Set Fire to the Rain
by KarmellaKitty
Summary: Sirius Black has his sights set on a new girl, but someone else may want her, too. Will Sasha fall for the charms of Sirius Black, or will she be attracted to Severus Snape instead? A tale of romance, complete with its fair share of Death Eater action.
1. Chapter 1

This is my first story, so it may not be much. Read and tell me what you think! I think I'll post chapter 2 if I get one review or alert or anything. Well, I'll probably post it anyway, but that will speed up the process.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or the song Set Fire to the Rain by Adele.

Sirius Black sidled up to the Ravenclaw girl sitting in the library, leaning over her homework - honestly, homework? On the first day of the sixth year? - intently as she brushed thick chestnut curls out of her face. "Hello, there, Sasha," Black greeted her smoothly, sliding into the empty seat beside her.

"Sirius Black, in the library?" Sasha Williams replied sarcastically by way of greeting. Without giving him a chance to respond, she rolled her eyes and continued, "Look, Black. I don't want to hear any of your crap. I don't want to be just another girl right now."

Black barked a laugh and leaned closer. "What crap?" he asked, making his eyes "innocent."

Sasha twirled a ringlet around her finger and responded, maybe a little too harshly, "Come on. You're Mr. Rich-and-Perfect, Black. And I don't care. So go away and chase some other girl. I'm in Ravenclaw, after all, and I'm too smart to be all dewy-eyed over you like the other girls. Although you should hear my friends talk..."

He grinned, obviously enjoying this. "Dewy-eyed girls are boring. I like someone with more... adventure."

Sasha cocked her head at him and smiled mockingly. "Good. Go bother someone in Gryffindor. That's what you're known for, right? _Adventure_?"

Before he could utter another word, James Potter came up behind Black. "Hey, Sirius. What are you doing in here? I was looking everywhere for you, but then Moony told me you were here, talking to some nice-looking girl," Potter said, winking at Sasha. She simply stared back at him, mildly annoyed, and gestured with her hands to make them go away as her own Ravenclaw friends approached.

"I'll be seeing you." Black waved good-bye, as Sasha though in relief, _Thank God that's over. And hopefully, he _won't_ be seeing me._

"Oh. My. God," Carmen squealed running forward ecstatically. "Sirius Black is _so _into you!"

Sasha sighed theatrically, rolling her eyes, to the giggles of her classmates.

But Sasha wasn't done with Sirius Black. He was everywhere - trying to be her partner in their shared classes (only Potions and Transfiguration, thankfully), attempting to ask her out between classes, and even coming to the Ravenclaw table to talk to her. "Who knew that Sirius Black would actually turn to liking just one girl?" Anna muttered distastefully, as he once again moved away from their table, without once glancing at her and her blonde beauty.

"Don't be ridiculous," Sasha giggled. "Black doesn't really _like_ me. Probably just not used to girls turning him down. Anyway, even if he did like a girl, why _me_?" Her friends seemed to think that this was a good enough argument. With her crazy chestnut curls, plain gray eyes, and unobtrusive features, Sasha was, though not ugly, certainly nothing special.

The conversation soon turned to other things, and before she knew it, it was time for Potions. Sasha groaned, remembering that she and Black shared that class. Before Black could reach her, however, and offer to be partners - to which she could hardly say no - Severus Snape disentangled from his Slytherin friends and set his cauldron down by her. "Severus Snape?" she exclaimed, beyond surprised now, as Lily Evans and Black stared at them, Black looking thoroughly angry, and Evans just as though she had been slapped. "Why are you partnering up with me, and not your Death Eater buddies?"

"Honestly?" Snape answered, looking, in fact, very friendly. "They're not really at my level," he shrugged.

Sasha snorted. "And you think _you're_ at _my_ level?" she asked, making it perfectly clear that a Slytherin could not hope to compete with a Ravenclaw such as herself.

Snape quirked an eyebrow. "Let's just see, shall we?"

Sasha shrugged, cracking open her copy of _Advanced Potion Making_, and trying to ignore the was Black was staring at her from across the room, as she laughed with Snape. It turned out to be quite fun, and she told him as much as they turned in their superb potion.

"Thanks," Snape replied, looking mildly surprised. "I thought Ravenclaws were too good to associate with Slytherins."

Sasha laughed. "Maybe not all Slytherins, Severus." But as she was saying this, Black came up, his face murderous.

"Sinking to a new low, Snivellus?" he sneered. "Trying to steal my girl?"

Sasha stared at him, enraged. "Back off, Black," she snarled. "Severus has never done anything to you. And last time I checked, I was not 'your girl!'" They glared at each other for a moment, but then, to her great surprise, Black's face changed to one of sincere regret. It was so quick, she thought she had imagined it, but then he replaced it with his usual languid grin and raised his hands jauntily, as if to say "whatever." _I'll show you whatever,_ Sasha thought, her eyes narrowed to slits. She pulled Severus out of the room, but she wasn't done yet.

"Well? Is it true? Are you just trying to be friendly because you think Black likes me or something?" she queried, not caring, for once, how many chestnut curls were escaping their bonds.

"Of course not," Severus responded, looking angry himself. "It's Potter and Black and their friends that do that kind of stuff, not me."

"Oh, yeah, Mr. Slytherin," she countered, putting emphasis on the last word. "Then what do you want? Because in case you haven't noticed, there aren't many Slytherins parading around with Ravenclaws. Or am I some sort of replacement for Lily Evans?" Severus jumped back, clearly stung by her words. "Did you think I didn't notice that, not counting summer break, you just stopped being friends with another girl a few weeks ago?"

"I would never try to replace Lily," he responded vehemently. "Never. I just needed a friend. And it doesn't matter that you're in Ravenclaw. I thought you were nice, and smart."

"Let me paint you a picture," Sasha said, curling her lip. "Ravenclaw: brainy. Slytherin," she hesitated for a moment, teetering on the brink of a much worse word, "Proud. Put brainy and proud together and you get cunning and evil. C'mon, Severus. I think you're nice, too, but what do you _really _want?"

Severus' black eyes became earnest as he answered, "I just want a friend, Sasha. I swear. I would never try anything else."

Finally, Sasha gave in, cracking a small smile. "Okay. By the way, I'm a half-blood."

"I don't care," Severus told her fervently.

"Right," she responded sarcastically, but with very real sympathy. "That's what you told Lily Evans, until you accidentally called her Mudblood, right?"


	2. Chapter 2

Okay! I got two alerts already, so thank you to those people, and here is Chapter 2. It's a little quick, so I'm not sure if I like it, but this does have to happen pretty quickly, or else it would take ages to get to the Death Eater part. Well, it still will take a while. But still

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter (because if I did Sirius Black would still be alive and he would be married to me) or the song Set Fire to the Rain.

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><p>"Sirius Black <em>so<em> likes you, though," Anna told her as the five Ravenclaw sixth-year girls sat in the common room, working on homework. "Why are you with Severus Snape?"

Sasha rolled her eyes. "I'm not _with_ Severus. We're friends."

Michelle and Linda scoffed while Carmen looped her arm around Sasha's neck. "Of course, buddy," she answered. "But when you hang out with a guy as much as you hang out with Snape, people start getting ideas... And those ideas come true..."

Sasha shook her head, but it was true. She and Severus were spending a lot of time together - Hogsmeade weekends, nightly wanderings around the castle, etc. Just last week, he had shown her a pool on the edge of the grounds, in the forest, that had seemed a little too romantic for her tastes, no matter how pretty it was. But other days they just worked on homework together, outside by the lake.

That was when Lily Evans had found them, angry. "Severus, I just wanted to get some things straight. We might not be friends anymore, but that doesn't mean you have to replace me with some Ravenclaw floozy."

Sasha looked up, her eyes narrowed. "I thought you were the one that broke off that friendship, Evans. Just because you're gone doesn't mean Severus can't have other friends. So watch who you're calling a Ravenclaw floozy, and stay away from Severus. He doesn't want you anywhere near him, so stop messing with innocent boys."

Lily looked affronted at these words, and then Severus cut in, "Stop, Sasha, it's fine."

"It is not fine," Sasha snapped. "You really like Evans, God knows why, and she keeps messing with you. Stay the hell away, Evans. Nobody wants you here."

Evans' green eyes showed every sign of protest, but Sasha fixed her with a cold gray stare, and the other girl huffed and whirled away. Severus stared forlornly after her, causing Sasha to carefully place her hand on his shoulder. "It'll be okay, Severus." He smiled thinly at her and gently touched her hand, which tingled so strangely that Sasha was tempted to take it away, but left it lying there gently.

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><p>While her friendship with Severus slowly strengthened and developed, Sasha felt like she ran into Sirius Black at literally every turn. "What is it?" she finally snapped, when she was sick and tired of ducking into passageways to avoid him.<p>

Black appeared surprised that she had spoken to him, and his mouth flapped around, very uncharacteristically. When he had regained himself, Black shook his shaggy black hair arrogantly and said, "What d'you mean, Williams?"

"You are, like, stalking me!" she exclaimed. "I can't get away from you."

Black snorted, and Potter, who had appeared at his side, snickered, saying, "Well, somebody's full of themselves."

"Yeah," Black added. "Looking for me a lot, are you, Williams?"

"You know, they say that when you're looking for something, it suddenly starts popping up everywhere," Potter whispered, leaning forward as though he were giving her the secret to life. A small crowd had gathered, and they were all listening.

"That's funny," Sasha retorted. "I usually don't spend my time looking for arrogant jerks. And look - there are two of them right in front of me."

James Potter's wand was out of his pocket so fast that Sasha hardly had time to blink. "And I think naughty little girls deserve to be punished," Potter snarled, that ugly smirk still on his face. He sent a mustache jinx at her, which missed and hit the girl behind her instead, who happened to be her best friend Carmen.

Anger bubbled inside her and she sent an enlarging hex at Potter, who didn't duck and suddenly swelled to twice his size. Black looked torn for a moment, between helping his friend and retaliating. Finally, he leaned down to help Potter, while Sasha looked on. The rest of the students scattered as she leaned down to help Carmen, conjuring a stretcher and carrying her to the hospital wing.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Black helping Potter with a worried expression. Sasha turned for a moment, watching as he completed complicated spell-work to right his swelling problem. For a moment, her face softened. He really cared about that Potter - she could see that on his face, judging by the way his forehead creased in a way very unlike Black's usually haughty demeanor. Maybe Black wasn't so bad after all...

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><p>"Hey, Williams," Black called the next time he saw Sasha. "Wanna take a walk?"<p>

Sasha turned to him and snorted, but actually considered it for a second. Watching his hopeful face, she finally caved and replied, "Sure. Why not?"

Black looked awfully surprised for a moment, then grinned broadly and then took her hand. Sasha stared down, stunned, but felt a tiny shiver of joy, her hand feeling slightly burned where he touched it. After an awkward silence, she gripped his hand tighter and allowed him to lead her out of the school and onto the grounds, which were relatively empty as the chills of November descended upon the nation. They circled the lake to a small grove of maples that Sasha had never noticed before. "Sorry about earlier," she said finally, her voice quiet. "But Potter did jinx Carmen, so you could hardly expect me to take it laying down."

Sirius looked at her, his eyes regretful. "Yeah, he shouldn't have done that," he agreed, and they lapsed into silence again, watching the ripples of the lake lap against the shore. It seemed peaceful, even freeing, to Sasha who garnered enough courage to speak again.

"You know, you're nicer than I give you credit for," Sasha admitted. "So sorry I got mad at you and stuff. I was kind of - a b****."

Smiling, Sirius turned her around to face him. "All girls cave to the charm sometime," he joked. Sasha's heart fluttered nervously, because suddenly Sirius was much closer to her than she could bear. He leaned down until she could feel his breathe on her face. Her eyes fluttered closed for a moment and she let him come closer and closer...

And closer...

...and closer...


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you to Puplover43 for my first review. Unfortunately, you're right, because what kind of love story is only three chapters long? To anyone else reading this, please review! I read somewhere that review are the number one cure to writer's block. So please review, even if you don't like it! Then at least I can try and make it better =).

Disclaimer: Look at the first two.

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><p>Suddenly, Sasha pushed Sirius away, so that he stumbled into a maple tree. "What the -" he began, but Sasha was already running, her heart racing against her chest. What had she done? Why had she just run from Sirius, who so obviously liked her? Did <em>she <em>like him? _Of course not,_ she scolded herself, but even when she finally collapsed under the beech tree, her heart showed no signs of slowing down.

After what seemed like ages, she saw Sirius' tall figure amble along on the edge of the lake. She could see him looking for her, but she shrank back into the shadows of the tree, not wanting to talk to him. A few moments later, however, Severus joined her beneath the tree. "What's wrong?" he asked, looking at her with large black eyes. Sasha noticed that she was crying, tears pouring from her grey eyes.

She shrugged, and Severus put an arm around her shoulders. "Do you want to talk about it?" he queried, and Sasha realized that Severus' arm was just what she wanted to feel.

"Okay," she whispered, allowing herself to cry onto his chest. "It's Sirius Black." Severus stiffened, his head jerking upward from its position on her head. The hand was stroking her curls grabbed them and pulled. "Ow!" she cried. "What the heck, Severus?"

"What did he do to you?" he whispered fervently.

"What?" Sasha replied, her head shooting up as well. "No, he didn't do anything. I just... he tried to kiss me." She hesitated for a moment. It felt weird to be talking about this with Severus, not Carmen or Anna or Michelle or Linda. But it also felt right, and that was what she thought about when another tear crawled down her cheek and she whispered, "I almost let him."

Severus squeezed her tight, filled with understanding. "I know," he breathed into her ear. Sasha felt her heart fill with gratefulness and she hugged him back. It was nice of him to listen to this, when she had only shown impatience when it came to Lily Evans.

"I'm sorry," she said softly.

He lifted his head again, gazing at her with a surprised expression in his black eyes. "For what?"

Sasha simply shrugged.

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><p>"Sasha! Williams! D'you wanna be my partner?" Sirius Black called from across the room in Transfiguration, before Carmen could claim her as a partner. Sasha blushed and mumbled a reply, which, although being quite neutral, Sirius took as a yes and shouted, "Excellent!"<p>

"Um," she muttered, waving her wand effortlessly and transfiguring him into a monkey, which was their assignment, before he could say anything more. Sasha allowed him to be a monkey a few good seconds before returning him to his original form.

"Ow, what was that for?" Sirius spat as his limbs became human again.

"What was what for? That was the assignment, brawny," she replied, rolling her eyes.

"You could've turned me back into a human at least a minute earlier," Sirius argued.

"I was debating whether to accidentally-on-purpose mess up and leave you with a little more hair than you wanted," Sasha told him breezily, preparing to be turned into a monkey. The sensation was rather unpleasant, not to mention that Sirius left her in monkey form for a full two minutes longer than he was supposed to. Except he was staring rather creepily at her the whole time, until she scuttled beneath the desk, only to have him lift her out and hold her until he turned her back. With great courtesy he set her down and bowed.

"What did you do _that_ for?" Sasha questioned, more than a little upset, despite Sirius' sweet manner.

"I just thought you looked sexy as a monkey," Sirius shrugged, "But not as sexy as you do as a human." Sasha flushed a little, turning away to look at her Transfiguration textbook, as the Professor awarded both Ravenclaw and Gryffindor with twenty house points. When she faced Sirius again, she noticed that he had been staring at her the whole time.

"Aren't you working on anything?" Sasha snapped, but the goose bumps on her arms told a different story. She pushed the chestnut ringlets away from her eyes and continued, "I think we just need to write a few essay questions about human transfiguration... What?" she queried impatiently, for Sirius hadn't moved.

"Oh, nothing. I was just wondering how a pretty girl like you can be so smart, too," he flirted, grinning widely. Sasha rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but feel a little gratified. Finally, however, it was time to go, and she grabbed Severus' hand and led him out of the room.

"Oh my God, promise me you'll be my partner next time Sirius asks first," she begged, her eyes wide.

Severus laughed and responded, "Of course, Sasha."

"What're you laughing about, Snivellus?" Sirius cried out from behind them.

Sasha wheeled around angrily. "Lay off him, Black. He's never done anything to you." Sirius laughed as though this was the most ridiculous thing anyone had ever said, but didn't pursue the issue further.

After they were almost out of earshot, he shouted, "That's okay, Williams. I'll just stand here and let you hang out with your Death Eater buddy." Sasha tensed, but didn't do anything until she was sure they were out of sight. The Death Eater idea hadn't really come up much between them, but it looked like a lot of things were changing recently.

"About the Death Eater thing..." she began nervously.

Severus smiled. "Don't worry. I would never ask you to have anything to do with that."

Sasha frowned. "I know you wouldn't, but what about you? I mean, do you really want to be part of that? You want to be on You-Know-Who's side?"

He was silent for a moment. Sasha gazed up at him, and they came to a halt at the end of the corridor. She knew that they could go down the staircase behind the tapestry of the four founders of Hogwarts, but suddenly their next class - Potions - seemed much less important than Severus' response. "I think so. The Dark Lord has the right idea, don't you think? Wizards should be able to rule above Muggles and Mud - that is, Muggle-borns. That's why we have the power."

Sasha was silent. She didn't know what to believe. On one hand, it seemed like "Magic is Might" was the right way to go - it made sense. But on a less theoretical level, the Death Eater idea was cruel, and she couldn't pretend otherwise. A string of desperation crept into Severus' voice as he added, "That doesn't change anything between us, does it? I don't care what you believe, Sasha. I want to be friends. I already made that mistake once."

She gave him a thin smile and replied, "Of course it doesn't, Severus." But as they slipped behind the tapestry and down the spiraling stairs, the smile was quickly replaced by an increasingly worried expression.

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><p>I like this chapter, because it really shows how close Severus and Sasha are growing... Do you agree? Review if you want chapter 4! Even if you don't, review, please! I love that chapter. It involves Christmas, and other awesome stuff.<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

Well, no new reviews, sadly. But I have gotten a few new alerts, and I know *looks threateningly at readers* that they will review if they want chapter five. Well, here is chapter 4, anyway:

Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter or Set Fire to the Rain by Adele. Sadly. If I did I would be rich.

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><p>Christmas dawned bright and early, with Carmen and Anna jointly shaking her awake and trying to exclaim their excitement over one another. Sasha laughed and sat upright, gathering the pile of presents at the end of her bed closer to her. On top was a small package addressed, "To Sasha, from Sirius." Her stomach flipped nervously. Sirius had gotten her a present? After hesitating for a few moments, she opened it to reveal a beautiful golden charm bracelet. Each charm was enchanted - a small timer filled with blue topaz that could be adjusted to different intervals, a rose of blue topaz that could grow and curl around her wrist, a lock and key that, when the key was inserted, became a locket, and more. Sasha's forehead crinkled in confusion as her friends oohed and aahed over it, for how had Sirius known that blue topaz was her favorite gem? Sure, they had been talking more lately, but they had never mentioned <em>that<em>... had they?

Her friends gasped when she replaced the bracelet in the box and refused to wear it. "Why on earth wouldn't you wear that?" Carmen gasped, climbing onto Sasha's bed beside her and examining each of the charms, playing with the one that turned into a furry mini-kitten with blinking blue eyes.

"It's... not my taste," she lied, even though she had loved charm bracelets since she was little and her mother, a witch who had died in a terrible accident, had made bracelets very much like this one. It occurred to Sasha that that was the reason Sirius had gotten it for her, but she quickly banished this thought. Instead, she went on to open presents from her father, a Muggle who didn't like magic too much - which was why she stayed at Hogwarts for Christmas. Carmen had stayed every year since the first, when she decided Sasha would be lonely and said, "My parents don't notice when I'm there, anyway." Anna had done the same the next year, since her stepmother hated when Anna, the "Devil's spawn," disrupted her perfect family.

"Whatever," Carmen replied, tearing Sasha from her thoughts. "I just think you're mad because Sirius Black tried to kiss you. Which doesn't even make sense, but, it's not my problem."

Anna picked up a last present and placed it on her lap. Sasha opened it and found a beautiful journal, whose pages were already full of notes of ideas she had had, but never written down. "Who's that from?" Carmen queried, inspecting the wrapping for a card and finding none.

She smiled. "Severus," she answered, remembering the very snowy conversation they'd had a few days previously, when Sasha had admitted that she loved writing.

"Ugh," Anna groaned. "I do not understand why you hang out with that boy. He looks like a bat."

Sasha rolled her eyes. "He does not, and he's really nice. I think this is the best gift I've ever gotten."

"Excuse me?" exclaimed Carmen, putting a hand to her heart and pretending to be offended. Her gift had been an amazing magical desk set - because, apparently, Sasha was a freak when it came to that stuff. "But more seriously, how can you say that when Sirius _Black _got you a charm bracelet like that."

"Jewelry?" she pointed out, in reference to the fact that Sasha was famous for disliking gifts of jewelry.

"You only don't like jewelry because it reminds you of your mom. And that," Anna said, pointing to the bracelet, "is the very kind of jewelry that you love because of your mom. No, that is an amazing present, and your just being stubborn."

"Whatever you say." Sasha dressed in pretty red robes, in honor the holidays, and the three of them headed down to the Great Hall, which was beautifully decorated. She bumped into Severus, and gushed to him about how much she loved his present, and once she was done he grinned broadly and hugged her. Moving away, she noticed Sirius, who was staying for Christmas as well, staring at her bare wrist with an utterly crushed expression. She met his eyes for a fraction of a second and shook down her sleeves, feeling bad for being the one that caused that expression to appear on his face.

The breakfast was sumptuous, and the rest of the day passed in festivities. She didn't run into Sirius again, but when she went up to Ravenclaw Tower after dinner to put on her winter cloak and scarf for a snowball fight with Severus, Sasha linked the bracelet around her wrist. _It's pretty,_ she thought, while the voice in her head teased her about it. _Why shouldn't I wear it?_

Once Sasha was outside, however, building her fort in the moonlight and laughing as she hit Severus with snowball after snowball, the bracelet was long forgotten. "Are you letting me win, Severus?" she teased. "It's either that, or you throw like a girl. Wait a sec - I'm a girl, and I'm throwing way better than you!"

"Oh, you just wait, Sasha Williams!" Severus shouted back, lobbing a magically enlarged snowball back at her. She giggled as it bounced off her protective shield.

"Nothing magical can get through," Sasha informed him. "No cheating, Severus!"

"How is that not cheating?" he yelled, pointing with a pale finger at her fort, which seemed to be building itself. Sasha took the opportunity to hurl another sphere of snow at him, so that in seconds, it looked like he had impaled the snowball with his finger.

She nearly fell down laughing as she responded, "I never said the forts couldn't be magical, Severus!" When there was no response, she poked her head into her throwing window and looked out. "Severus? Where are - Gah!" Sasha spat, for Severus had come in front of his fort with a disillusionment charm and chucked a snowball at her from a distance of only a few feet. "Hey, that's cheating!" she shouted, abandoning all pretense and running out in front of her fort, too.

"You never said we actually had to use our forts!" Severus called back, his voice somewhere on her left. Sasha wheeled around, just when a snowball hit her face. She heard Severus laughing as he pranced around her, yelling, "And you never said we couldn't be magical!"

"Come on, Severus," she called, giggling, as she backed into something that she thought was her fort. But then that something spun Sasha around, and she saw that it was Severus, his disillusionment charm melting away in front of her. She giggled harder and crashed onto the ground, dizzy. Gasping, she attempted to scramble to her feet, but collapsed again, half-panting, half-laughing.

Severus was smirking, reaching out his hands to help her up. Sasha took them gratefully, her arms feeling clumsy and weak. "Thank -," she began, stopping when she realized that Severus was pulling her close to him, so that her body fit perfectly into his. All in the blink of an eye, he swooped down so that his mouth met hers. Sasha paused for a moment, then returned the kiss, her heart beating at a steady sprint against her ribs. It was long and sweet, until suddenly, it was over, and they broke apart, gulping mouthfuls of air.

For one silent moment, they stared at each other, unblinking and amazed, as snowflakes swirled around them. She felt like time was slowing for them, making it seem magical, surreal. And finally the world came rushing back to Sasha; the mirthful whoops of the other students, the light Christmas music floating from the castle, all coming crashing down in her in an instant. She gasped, her grey eyes widening as she jumped back, the enormity of what had just happened too great for her to bear.

In that split-second, something snapped in her brain and she mumbled a foolish excuse, fleeing quickly. Sasha ran and ran, not realizing what she was doing until she was sitting, shivering, at the top of the Astronomy Tower. Somehow, her winter cloak had slipped off and tears had appeared on her face, etching a glistening pattern over the red of her frost-bitten cheeks. The realization that she was freezing and alone made her tears flow faster and thicker as Sasha slid down the rampart to rest on the snow-dusted floor, in between two of the telescopes. She didn't know how much time passed - it could have been hours, it could have been minutes - before another person appeared beside her.

Lifting her head drowsily, Sasha could just make out the handsome features of Sirius Black. "Sirius? What are you doing here?" she breathed as he sat beside her and wrapped a cloak around her shoulders, positioning her head on his chest.

He pulled her closer with his arm, rubbing her other upper arm with his hand to warm her up. "I just thought you might be cold," Sirius whispered. Sasha began to ask how he had known that she was up on the Astronomy Tower, but he just put a finger to her lips and said softly, "_Shh_."

Sasha looked up at him, her eyelids drooping sleepily, and smiled. _Thank you, Sirius,_ thought Sasha to herself.

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><p>Sigh. So romantic. But who will Sasha choose in the end - well, the end of the beginning? Review and find out! Thanks for reading!<p>

By the way, the song Set Fire to the Rain refers to Sasha and Severus' relationship more than Sasha and Sirius. Although if you looked at it from Sirius' perspective, maybe.


	5. Chapter 5

Well, thanks to an awesome review by LMo98, you get Chapter Five! This one is... interesting... Just read and see! Oh, and don't forget to review!

Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter, don't own Set Fire to the Rain.

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><p>Potions, Transfiguration, and Charms - the classes Sasha had with Severus - became increasingly awkward. In Potions, she always partnered up with Sirius, who flirted unabashedly. On different days, this made Sasha variably uncomfortable or flattered. Transfiguration and Charms were easier to survive, mostly because Carmen and Anna were the best best friends she could ask for, and they never mentioned Severus or Sirius - not to her face, anyway. She did catch them whispering and cutting off abruptly when she approached, however. "What is it?" Sasha finally snapped, making Michelle and Linda shrink into the background. "Well?" she urged with a fierce glower.<p>

"Look, Sasha." It was Carmen, pursing her lips and pushing her homework away from her, as though to clear a space for what she was about to say. "You kinda messed up."

"I did not mess up!" she exclaimed, but Carmen gave her that patented best-friend look, at which Sasha flopped onto her favorite blue armchair. "Fine. I messed up. But I don't know what to do! I mean... he just _kissed_ me," she moaned, looking imploringly at all of her friends.

"You kissed him _back,_" Anna pointed out.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Sasha retorted tartly. "Oh, sorry, sorry. It's just I can't figure out why I ran. I do like Sirius, I do."

"Just talk to him, honey," Carmen suggested. "I mean, he kissed you. He obviously likes you, too. But the real question is, why did Sirius Black carry you back to Ravenclaw Tower, bridal style, passed out, in the middle of the night?"

"Oh, it was nothing," Sasha informed her friends, waving a hand dismissively. Carmen, unfortunately, had the best-friend-look down to a science, so she sighed and looked at her hands while she replied, "Okay. I went up to the Astronomy Tower, and Sirius found me there. I fell asleep, and he carried me down here. It's not a big deal, honestly."

Carmen, however, wasn't in Ravenclaw for no reason. "You like him, don't you?" she asked, so quietly that none of the others, except Anna, could hear.

"I don't -" Sasha sighed, her head drooping. "Maybe a little. But I like Severus more!" _I think,_ she added to herself. She had, in truth, thought about this quite a bit since the incident a few weeks previously. Was it just her imagination, or had her heart beat much faster when Sirius tried to kiss her? Was she simply imagining the tingling sensation she had had from head to toes when Sirius kissed her? No, she liked Severus more. She had to.

"So? Are you going to talk to him?" Anna asked, and Sasha realized they had been talking the whole time.

"Oh. Oh, yeah. I guess," she stuttered, closing her eyes to get away from the confines of the common room. Why, oh why, did their have to be _two_ boys trying to kiss her? Life had been much simpler when there were none!

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><p>Whatever she thought privately, though, Sasha made good on her promise to Carmen and Anna. "Hey, Severus," she said in Charms the next day.<p>

If Severus was surprised that she was speaking to him, he didn't show it. "Hi, Sasha," he greeted her in return. There was a couple seconds' awkward silence before they both began speaking at once.

"Look, I made a mistake," Sasha began.

Severus started, "Oh, I'm so sorry, Sasha."

Realizing what they had done, they both burst out laughing. "But, seriously, Severus, you don't have to apologize. I guess we got, well, caught up in the moment," she offered.

"Yeah," Severus responded eagerly. "I totally shouldn't have kissed you. We're friends, right?"

Sasha gave him her thin smile and replied, "Of course. Just friends."

"Why don't I make it up to you?" Severus began, but Sasha interrupted him.

"No, you really don't have to do anything."

"Yes, I do," he insisted. "It's my fault. Hogsmeade weekend is coming up," he pointed out, nodding towards a sign on the bulletin board near the front of the classroom. "Why don't I take you out?"

Sasha leaned back slightly, a mix of hesitance and discomfort crossing her face. That Hogsmeade weekend was Valentine's Day. "Valentine's Day?" she repeated quietly.

"Oh, no," Severus gasped, realizing what he had just implied. "No, I meant as friends... But if that's weird, we totally don't have to -"

"No, it's okay," Sasha assured him. "I'd love to."

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><p>School seemed to rush by in a blur for the next few weeks as Sasha looked with nervous anticipation towards the Valentine's Day Hogsmeade weekend. Despite all of Severus' reassurances, she couldn't shake the feeling that this was rather... date-like. It was on <em>Valentine's Day<em>, of all things. So when the morning dawned chilly, but clear, Sasha awoke a whole hour early and began fretting. "Okay, do you want to date him?" Carmen asked patiently.

"Yes! No! I don't know!" she exclaimed, trying to decide which robes to wear. Finally, she just wore her uniform, with a pretty pink broach for Valentine's Day, and matching earrings.

Carmen and Anna only interrupted when she attempted to but on Sirius' bracelet. "No! Are you crazy?" Michelle asked from beside them as her two best friends attempted to wrestle it from her wrist.

"It's not a date! He's made that perfectly clear, guys," Sasha insisted. "I want to wear it. It's nice."

Carmen shook her head as though she were a foolish little child, but threw her hands up in surrender. "Fine. Wear it. But if he kisses you, I'm not going to be the one feeling guilty when that's on your wrist."

Sasha glared at her, but it wasn't like she could actually be mad at her best friend. They all wished her good luck as she headed out, meeting Severus at the entrance to Ravenclaw Tower. "Hi," she greeted him quietly, blood pumping in her ears, her stomach doing flips inside her.

"Hey," he responded, grasping her hand firmly. She smiled at him, glad for the comfort.

Sasha was glad for the comfort of warm Honeydukes, where she and Severus sought refuge from the freezing February temperatures. "Wow, it's been a cold winter," she gasped as she examined a package of Deluxe Sugar Quills, still rubbing her hands together to warm up.

"Yeah, freezing," Severus responded absently, from by the counter where he seemed to be picking up chocolate truffles. Sasha turned to see what he was doing, and found that he had reappeared beside her, holding a pretty, heart-shaped box filled with "an assortment of chocolate delights that will set your senses ablaze with love."

She laughed at the message and accepted the box graciously, squirming only a little at the implied message. "Thanks, Severus," Sasha said earnestly.

"Oh, these aren't for you. They're for my other girlfriend," he teased. While Sasha laughed, she thought privately, _"My other _girlfriend_"? Does he think I'm his girlfriend? Or is that what he's asking?_ Suddenly, it didn't seem like such a bad idea.

Smiling rather giddily, Sasha stepped a little closer and responded, "Seriously, Severus. Thanks." Was it her imagination, or was he getting closer? She tilted her head up, and -

"Hey, Snivellus," Sirius called, approaching, but not looking at Sasha at all. The expression on his face was pure rage. "I was just wondering, how did you get her to go out with you?" The people around them snickered at this, but Sirius didn't look at Sasha, not even for a second. What was he doing? What was his problem? It wasn't any of his business what she did! Then Sirius continued, "I really need that recipe. For the love potion, you know."

"Get away from him, Sirius," Sasha told him, stepping forward. "Leave us alone."

Only now did Sirius let his gaze fall on Sasha, specifically, on her wrist. "Did your girlfriend tell you where she got that bracelet she wears every day?" he asked snidely, his attention still on Severus. Sasha felt Severus stiffen behind her, but she didn't care. She didn't care about anything anymore.

Temper raging, she leapt forward, her wand in her hands before she knew what she was doing. "Go away, Black. I don't care what you think and I don't care if I never, ever see you again. Stop messing with Severus, stop messing with me, and stop messing with us. You can have your stupid bracelet for all I care," Sasha spat, gesticulating wildly with her wand and unlatching the bracelet. It was in the air before Sirius knew what was happening, the hourglass timer hitting his forehead with a quiet, dull thunk. "You're an arrogant jackass, and so are all your friends. You can do whatever you want, but I'm through with you, because whatever you think, you will never, ever be good enough for me. So you can go to hell. Come on, Severus," she finished, pulling his arm and leading him around a stunned Sirius, who was standing there, holding the charm bracelet, with an expression appropriate to being slapped.

"Wait, Sasha," Severus whispered, and she stopped. "I want _him _to see what he's missing." And then he was kissing her, more deeply and passionately than he had done before. It was much more than that first mistake of a kiss had been, and they melted together in an embrace. When they finally broke apart, the only sounds were the shattering of Lily Evans' mug and the tinkle of gold as the charm bracelet fell to the floor.

There was something exploding in Sasha's chest, something real, something wonderful. She smiled up at him, only a tiny crease appearing on her forehead; whether it was of confusion or pleasure, she didn't know. All she knew was that she was happy, at least for a moment, but maybe for much more. Sasha grinned again, her heart rocking to a steady, quick tempo, and she felt safe and secure. This time her smile actually showed her teeth, but as she turned to the room, to Sirius, who seemed rooted to the spot, it thinned into a small, sad little thing that expressed an inkling of happiness, but more of pain.

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><p>Ah, I love the ending =). I actually thought of that paragraph when I was half-sleeping... and I just realized that somehow, half of it got deleted. Alright. It's fixed. Reviews, please! If you don't start reviewing soon, lurkers and other readers, I really will have to follow through with my threats of keeping the next chapter from you. And you don't want that, especially since I'm going on vacation next week to a place that may or may not have internet, and then you really won't get new chapters! So review!<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

Okay, here's Chapter Six. But this one is mainly for LMo98, who has been reviewing very nicely! The rest of you, please, step it up! I know there are people reading this, so just type a few words. Anything to help me make this better. It would be much appreciated and it might even give me fuel to write another chapter before my aforementioned vacation. Anyway, here it is.

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><p>Carmen was pounding on the door. "Open up, Sasha! How are we supposed to help you get ready if you don't even let us in?"<p>

Sasha sighed dramatically to herself and unlocked the door. She was wearing Muggle clothes for their outing - a pretty lilac wool dress. Not that anyone would be able to see it, underneath the two cloaks that she would be wearing. This was she and Severus' second "date," and he had told her they would be going outside. She shivered at the thought. Why would anyone want to go outside in February?

"Honestly, I don't understand that boy," Carmen continued, once she was happily waving her wand to convince Sasha's incorrigible chestnut curls into a twist at the back of her head, while Anna brushed something powdery onto her face. "On your first date, he took you to some moldy old room in the castle -"

"It was the Room of Requirement, and he made it into a beautiful hall -" Sasha interrupted, but Carmen continued mercilessly.

"- and now he's taking you _outside_. In the middle of winter! Now, if you were going out to, like, make a snowman, for some reason, that would be okay. But you're on a date! It should be romantic, not freezing," Carmen informed her.

"It's fine, really," Sasha said as she tugged Carmen's wand out of her hands. If she tried to make her curls do anymore with themselves, she would end up with no hair at all. She wasn't really sure if she meant the hair or the date. Before she could elaborate, though, Anna stood up and presented Sasha to herself with a flourish. _I look nice_, Sasha realized. Anna had done something that made her skin look slightly darker, just enough so that she didn't look as deathly pale as usual, and boldly accentuated her stormy gray eyes.

"Thanks, guys," she whispered. "But now I do have to go. Severus said to meet him by the lake at seven, and it's six fifty-five." Carmen relinquished her ferocious grip on Sasha's arm, reclaiming her wand in the process, and waved good-bye with Anna. Sasha smiled at her best friends and headed out.

She hadn't been walking long, however, when Sirius Black jumped out of the shadows, almost like he had been expecting her. "Gah!" Sasha screamed, leaping back in alarm.

Sirius had apologized sweetly for harassing her at Honeydukes, offering her his own bag of Valentine's candy. Sasha had laughed when she realized he was sincere, and had pushed away the bag of candy, taking it only when he said he would feel guilty if she didn't have it. But all that did not explain why he was scaring her now.

"Sorry," he apologized, looking rather harried and un-Sirius-like. "But I don't think you should go out."

"What?" she exclaimed. How could he say something like that? "Where do you get off?"

"It's the coldest day of the year!" Sirius exclaimed hastily. "You shouldn't be outside."

Sasha laughed. "Sirius Black, telling somebody not to take a risk? Who are you and what have you done with my friend?" she snickered. "Thank you for caring, but I really have to go," she told him, turning to walk away.

"No! Sasha, wait," called Sirius from behind her. She faced him again, now slightly annoyed, but was rather alarmed by the worried look on his face. "I just - I don't think you should be with Severus. He's not really a good guy. Trust me. You don't want to be involved with him and all his Death Eater buddies."

"If I wanted advice, I would've asked for it," Sasha responded frostily. "Mind your own business, Sirius. And have a little more faith that I know what I'm doing." She spun around angrily and clomped away. Sirius made to follow her and tried to call her back again, but she ignored him. _It's sweet of him to care,_ the voice in her head pointed out. This, too, she ignored, stomping all the way to the clearing the snow that Severus had made. She smiled as she saw the picnic he had laid out. "Hi, Severus."

He got up and kissed her. "Hey, Sasha," Severus greeted her, his black eyes almost brimming with happiness. "What took so long?"

"Oh, it was nothing. I just got held up by -" she paused, uncertain. "By Carmen and Anna. They had to make sure everything was perfect." Sasha glanced down, not knowing what possessed her to lie.

"Oh," Severus replied. "Well, do you want dinner?"

Sasha grinned. "Of course." Then she sniffed. "Why isn't it cold here?" she asked, gesturing around at the little clearing in the snow.

"Magical bubble," he explained, pouring soup into her bowl with a ladle. "It can't even snow on us." It was true. The few snowflakes falling from the sky were mysteriously curving around them. Sasha smiled. He'd taken a lot of time to set this up for them. For her.

"Thanks for this," she whispered, nibbling on a piece of Hogwarts' best bread. "You're a really sweet guy, Severus."

He grinned and leaned forward. "Really, Sasha?" Severus teased, coming closer and kissing her. Sasha laughed brokenly, falling backwards onto the dead, yellow grass.

"Stop," she giggled pushing him away. "Let's talk first. How was your week?" Sasha asked impishly, brushing a few leaking snowflakes off her reddening nose.

"Well," Severus began, his face equally teasing. "I had to suffer through every single class without you, and then there was dinner every day, including today. So, it was pretty bad. How about you?"

Propping her head on her hands, Sasha pretended to think. "Well, I guess it was pretty nice in Potions, Transfiguration, and Charms. The other classes were a bit boring. At least I had something nice to look forward to."

"Oh? And what would that be?" Severus queried, obviously enjoying their game. Sasha smiled softly, basking in the moment. She hadn't been this happy in a long time - since her mother had been alive.

"A date," she joked, "but not this one, it's with my other boyfriend."

"Who's this other boyfriend? I need to deal with him," Severus said threateningly, cracking his knuckles.

Sasha hid a giggle behind her hand. "Oh, no one important. I think this date might be better." She wrinkled her nose cutely. "Just maybe."

Severus lunged at her, tickling her until she rolled over onto her back, and then began kissing her. "Stop!" she yelled, but it was muffled beneath his mouth. Instead of fighting, she rolled over again, and again, until they were out on the snow. Sasha paused at the shore of the lake, but Severus wasn't so nice. They spun out onto the ice, despite the fact that it began to crack slightly under their weight. Sasha laughed when it finally broke, dumping them both into the icy water, still locked in a tight embrace.

"Come on," Severus snickered, climbing out onto the edge and reaching for her hand. Sasha grabbed it and hauled herself out.

"Wow. It _is_ cold," she gasped, drying herself off with her wand.

"Not too cold," Severus grinned, leading her back up to their picnic.

"Of course not," she responded, smiling back.

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><p>This one is kind of...different...because it focuses so closely on SeverusSasha. But we need that sometimes, too. Plus, it shows that Severus and Sasha can have fun like a normal couple, even though it may be in a rather creative way, and even though they are anything but normal. Please review (if anything, to stop me from bugging you in every note. Unless you just skip over these...)!


	7. Chapter 7

Okay, I know I said I was going on vacation, and I am, tomorrow. So for now I can give you Chapter 7, because I got 2 reviews this time. Which is still not a lot, but it's an improvement, after all. Keep reviewing, people! Anyway, this chapter is - interesting. Have fun. And hopefully you'll be begging for more, because this story is not even close to done!

Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter, don't own Set Fire to the Rain.

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><p>Severus lit a small fire in a bowl by their picnic while they finished dinner, chatting quietly. "So, I need to ask you something," Sasha began finally, not able to put off the burning question any longer.<p>

"What is it?" Severus questioned when she didn't elaborate, looking at her curiously.

"Well... I know this hasn't been an issue between us, but the whole Death Eater thing bothers me," Sasha explained. "I wanted to ask you what you want with that. What do you want me to do? Because if you want to be a Death Eater in the future, I'm not sure I can follow you. And then it's kind of like our relationship has a death sentence, isn't it?"

Severus was silent for a moment that stretched out for ages. "Actually, I was thinking about joining early. Some of the other guys have parents who are close to the Dark Lord, or as close as they can be, say he's looking for replacements for all the Death Eaters that have been killed or hurt by the Order of the Phoenix. They reckon we can go sometime and offer our services."

"Sometime?" Sasha asked, shocked. "Like, soon?"

"Yeah," he responded abruptly. "This year, sometime. I don't know exactly when. The other guys know more than me. But," Severus paused, a tiny, hopeful look in his earnest black eyes, "I was wondering if you might want to join me."

Sasha paused. _How can he ask me to make such a choice? He's basically asking me to choose between him and anything I might want to do for the rest of my life,_ Sasha thought, slightly angry, but overwhelmingly confused. _That's just not fair._ Half of her wanted nothing more than to follow Severus to the corners of the world if that was what he desired. She was happy with Severus, much, much happier than she could have been with anyone else. _Even Sirius?_ a nagging voice in her head queried faux-innocently.

_It's not like I'm against Death Eaters on principle, _Sasha reminded herself. They did have a good point - wizards should rule over Muggles. They deserved it, right? But it was the grey area in the Death Eaters' affairs that confused her. They dueled to kill, not injure, and they killed for fun. That couldn't be right. Not to mention that Carmen and Anna and the others, along with her mother, would be dead set against it. As the silence stretched into minutes, Sasha finally responded, "Well, I can think about it. I mean, it's not like I'm totally against it."

"Thanks, Sasha," Severus answered appreciatively. "I knew that you, of all people, would understand." A thin smile lit Sasha's face in response as she gripped his hand, knowing that, for at least this moment, they were all right.

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><p>"Come on, Severus! I can't go into your common room," Sasha complained as he dragged her hand through the wall in the dungeon. The light in the Slytherin House was flickering green, over eerie skulls and other such things, which, in Sasha's opinion, made it seem mysterious and intimidating.<p>

"Of course you can," Severus laughed as they sneaked around the various chairs and sofas, and into Severus' dorm. He kissed her as they collapsed onto his bed, nearly ripping the green curtains that surrounded it. Sasha stopped resisting at once, letting herself give in to the kisses. Suddenly, however, she felt something hard under the pillow.

Sasha reached under with one hand, bringing out a small photograph. She felt herself stiffen when she say the dark red hair and the almond-shaped green eyes. "What is this, Severus?" she asked, her voice dangerously quiet. It was obvious that Severus had some feelings left for Lily Evans, but after all, he was dating _Sasha._ Why would he sleep with a picture of Lily Evans under his pillow?

"It's - It's nothing," he replied hastily, stuffing the photo of a laughing Lily into a drawer in his night table and attempting to kiss Sasha again.

Her brain flashed with anger. _Does he really think he can get rid of me that quickly?_ she thought, sitting up straight and fixing Severus with a fierce glare. "Why would you sleep with a picture of Lily Evans underneath your pillow? Gee, I wonder. Maybe so that you can look at it happily by wandlight at night?" Sasha exclaimed, her voice rising with fury. "Newsflash, Severus. That's what some boys do with pictures of their girlfriends. And is your girlfriend Lily Evans? No, it's me. Me! And I'm sitting right here. Were you planning to tell me sometime?"

By now, Severus was angry, too. "And what would I say? 'Hey, Sasha. I hope you're okay with this, but I still kinda like Lily Evans,'" he retorted. Sasha sat there for a moment, stunned, for she had thought that he would comfort her and tell her that she was the only one he liked, reassure her. With an angry snort, she stood and made to exit the dormitory. "Wait, Sasha," Severus called.

_Seems like everyone has been saying that lately,_ she thought, not stopping for him as she had for Sirius. Was that wrong? _Ha! At least Sirius wasn't trying to tell me he liked another girl, while he was dating me,_ Sasha countered, aware that she was arguing against herself. But as her fingers were closing around the doorknob, Severus leapt up and stopped her. "Sasha, please," he implored. Sasha sighed dramatically and paused, gesturing for him to continue. "Look, that's an old picture. And I know that's no excuse. But I wasn't sure what to think, who to like, and now I know it's you."

She was quiet for another instant before replying, "You're right, Severus. That's no excuse. I want to believe you, and I want to trust you, but I don't know if I can. I'm sorry, but I can't do this."

Sasha pushed the door open and fled quickly, ignoring the forlorn looks and silent calls of Severus behind her. As soon as she was out of Slytherin House, she collapsed against the wall, breathing heavily. What had she just done? She moaned in distraught and headed back towards the upper levels of the castle rather listlessly, not quite aware of what she was doing until she found herself in front of a certain blank stretch of wall on the seventh floor. _Perfect, _she thought, wishing for a place where she could just be alone.

Opening her eyes, Sasha saw a simple oak door, which she opened to find herself in her bedroom at home. _Perfect,_ she thought again. She had never told her friends, but this was the one place she could enjoy at home. After her mother had died, she had started painting, almost like a lunatic. The floor, walls, and ceiling of her room were covered with an intricate painting of a lake in the fall, with all of the trees in bright oranges, yellows and purples. The blue water shimmered as the rays of light fell upon it, and a beautiful sunset swirled the sky in color on one wall. She closed her eyes, sinking into the soft colors. No one at Hogwarts, not even Anna and Carmen, knew about the months on end she had spent painting this masterpiece. No one even knew she could paint. That was something for the Muggle world.

She didn't know how much time had passed before a light knock sounded on the door. Sasha jumped up, startled. Who could be knocking? She was in the Room of Requirement. No one could possibly find her here.

"Sasha, open up." It was Sirius.

"Sirius?" she whispered, her voice cracking. There was a lump in her throat, and suddenly she realized that her cheeks were wet with tears. She had been crying?

Slowly, Sasha edged to the door, propping it open just a crack, to find Sirius standing there, as handsome as ever. A pang shook Sasha. _Did I just think of him as handsome?_ she wondered, feeling more confused than ever. "Well, come in, I guess," she invited softly, pulling the door open just far enough for him to enter.

"Wow," he exclaimed upon entering. "This is your room at home?"

"Yeah," Sasha responded, sitting back down on the edge of the bed. "When my mom died... I kinda went crazy. Maybe because I never expected her to die. I never even considered it. She was a witch, you know? Witches are supposed to be strong. Magic should've protected her." Her voice cracked. "My dad felt the same way, because he suddenly hated me. Well, he didn't hate me, exactly, but I'm so much like her. I was a constant reminder of her. And the way he acted, that was a constant reminder to me." She didn't know what she was saying, why she was telling Sirius Black these things, which she had never told anyone, but her mouth kept moving, the words rushing out. "So I shut myself in my room and just started drawing. All over the floor, the walls. And then I decided to make it colorful, and I got this."

"It's beautiful," Sirius told her after a moment's silence. He had sat down next to her on the bed, and was gently lying his arm across her shoulders. Sasha looked at him, and his eyes were boring into hers, as though he could see her soul. "You're beautiful," he whispered, brushing the tears off her eyelashes with a delicate fingertip. Then, before Sasha could react, he kissed her.

And then Sasha was in bliss. There was nothing more perfect than that moment, than the feeling of Sirius' lips on hers. She was filled with a burning passion, her arms wrapping around his head, fingers tangled in that black mane. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that she wanted nothing more than she wanted this, than she wanted Sirius. The few seconds they were kissing stretched into ages, into a millennium of peace in Sasha's mind. Her whole body was on fire with something that was much more potent than the mere tingle she felt with Severus.

_Severus._ The instant that thought crossed her brain was a confused one - at first she couldn't comprehend what Severus meant to her. But after that, a jolt of panic chased out the passion, and she broke apart from Sirius with a gasp. _What am I doing?_ she thought in alarm, but she didn't move. This was where she belonged - with Sirius. No, Severus. But if it was Severus, why did it feel so right to be held by the arms of none other than Sirius Black?

_Don't think,_ Sasha urged herself, knowing that it wasn't in her nature but not caring. She clasped her lips back onto Sirius', who reciprocated with zeal. They fell backwards, kissing for what felt like forever. An amazing forever.

Unfortunately, all good things end, and when Sasha finally came to her senses, she was just a confused girl with conflicting emotions and two amazing boys that wanted her just as badly as each other. In other words, she was a mess.

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><p>Mwahahaha! Yes, I'm evil. Or, Sasha's a being a b****. Or she's really confused. Maybe a little of both. What did you think? REVIEW! After all, if I bug you enough, you have to review someday, right? Because the story is just getting interesting... ;-D<p> 


	8. Chapter 8

Okay, here's chapter eight. Background info: the Sixth Year Ball is an old tradition that used to happen every year Hogwarts, where the sixth-years got to dress up and have basically a little prom. So it's sort of like prom, but Hogwarts-style. You'll need that info if you don't want to be confused =). Now R&R!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or the song Set Fire to the Rain by Adele.

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><p>While it had been bad enough to avoid one boy at a time, Sasha was now steadfastly ignoring both Sirius and Severus. She had messed up, horribly. How could she have kissed Sirius? Right after she ran out on a pleading Severus? <em>I'm a horrible person and a hypocrite,<em> she thought, lines of misery forming slowly on her forehead.

The other half of her didn't agree. _Severus was sleeping with a picture of Lily underneath his pillow! He deserved it!_ But Sasha knew that wasn't true. If anything, it made her actions more treacherous. She had told Severus she couldn't be with him, and then gone and kissed Sirius. Who was now watching her with a broken smile almost constantly. "Oh, what have I done?" she moaned, slumping down in her favorite armchair in the Ravenclaw common room.

"You messed up, again," said Carmen quite honestly. She seemed eager to give advice, but she had that knowing look on her face that conveyed to Sasha that she understood perfectly. "Here's what I think you should do. Well, first, are you absolutely positive that the kiss with Sirius was just a stupid emotional thing?" Carmen's brown eyes were a little too intense for Sasha's taste.

"Of course," Sasha assured her. "I would never have done it... except, well, I was broken up about Severus, and then he found me in my room, and I just told him all of this stuff... I have no idea why..."

Anna was painting her fingernails in Ravenclaw bronze beside them. "Well, I think you should tell Severus the truth and apologize," she advised.

"He'll never fall for that! Not after I broke up with him over that picture of Lily!" Sasha protested, feeling very hopeless. There was no way out of this mess. "Besides, what do I tell Sirius?"

"He would fall for it," Anna disagreed. "I mean, a picture under the pillow is much more than a kiss. You kissed Sirius, which was a mistake, but he's sorta-kinda still in love with Lily Evans, which is a much bigger deal."

"Well," Carmen reasoned. "I think that Anna's right, but you shouldn't tell Severus. Honesty is the foundation of a good relationship, of course, but sometimes a omission of a detail can do more good. I mean, it didn't mean anything, right? So just forget about it, talk to Severus and see how he tries to make it up to you, and talk to Sirius and make sure he understands that it was a mistake."

"A kiss always means something," Anna piped up. Both Carmen and Sasha glared at her briefly, before starting back up.

Sasha was against the plan. "I can't just talk to them! I'll feel like a horrible person while Severus apologizes, and then I'll break Sirius' heart."

Carmen snorted. "It'll take a lot more than that to break the heart of Sirius Black, Sash. And the horrible person thing you just have to deal with. Trust me. I've done this before." Sasha scowled at her, but didn't argue. After all, it wasn't like she had better ideas.

"Sasha!" Severus called in Potions. "Do you wanna be my partner?" Sasha turned her head slightly, hiding her eyes under her chestnut curls. He had been asking her this question in Potions, Charms, and Transfiguration every day she had them for the past week, since the fateful day in Slytherin house. Usually, she would just ignore him and partner up with one of her Ravenclaw classmates, but when she turned around, she found Carmen and Anna had already paired up, best-friend-smiles on their faces.

Sasha sighed loudly and turned to Severus, whose half-hopeful, half-hopeless expression nearly broke her heart. "Sure, Severus," she accepted, cautiously moving her cauldron next to hers. He seemed concerned that she was looking so miserable. _If he knew why..._ she thought, and suddenly, it felt like the air was being squeezed out of her. What good was all of this, if she ended up as the girl that was being torn apart? _Oh, I should have just ignored them, both of them,_ she realized dismally, but before she could wallow in self-pity any more, Severus spoke.

"Sasha, I can't take this," he exclaimed, bumping their cauldron abruptly and almost spilling its contents. "I can't take us not talking, and I can't take you being this sad all the time." _If only you knew why,_ she repeated to herself. "Let me make it up to you. Please. I know that's the second time I've said that, and I feel horrible because of it. But... the Sixth Year Ball is coming up, and I wish you would come with me. Please. I know I don't deserve it, but -" On this note, Sasha burst into tears and collapsed into Severus' arms, knowing that she didn't deserve to be held so gently by those hands, sobbing uncontrollably. Severus looked at her with a bemused expression, but accepted it without comment, only saying, "I'll take that as a yes, then."

Sasha could hear Carmen's eye-roll in her voice as she snapped, "Come out. You looked great fifteen minutes ago, and if you make me late for my date with Mark, I am going to murder you. Got it?"

Sasha was sitting in their bathroom, staring at herself in the mirror. She did look nice, and she knew it. Anna had done something with her chestnut ringlets involving three sparkling pins, and Carmen had transfigured her school robes into soft, spring green dress robes, because the school's financial aid program didn't seem to apply to robes, and her father would never give a cent to her magical education. She sighed. How could she be bitter about her dad? She was the one with the most sins to atone for at the moment.

"Sasha!" Anna shouted, banging on the door loudly, even though she was convinced that every movement would ruin the silky curtain of black hair that she had been brushing for hours. "If you don't stop moping around and deal with yourself, I am coming in there, putting you in a full body bind, and carrying you out to the dance."

"That, or we'll leave," Michelle added, sounding alarmed at the usually-soft-spoken Anna's words. Finally, Sasha hauled herself out of the bathroom, following her friends into the common room, and out to where Severus, Mark, and the other girls' dates were waiting nervously.

"Wait a sec, Sasha, can you help me with something?" Carmen called from behind, causing her to turn around, which gave her best friend the perfect opportunity to drag her into the corner and continue in a hushed voice. "Look, Sasha. Just act normal. And I realize that's an oxymoron, but you need to calm down. This is me, as your best friend, saying this." Carmen's forehead creased worriedly. "Go on, Williams. Give 'em hell."

Sasha smiled in appreciation, then rejoined Severus, who held his arm out chivalrously. She took it, pasting a thin smile on her face, which soon became real as he teased her about Carmen and her protectiveness. The ball was splendidly organized, with the Great Hall decorated like a ballroom, small, round tables crowded around the edges. Severus and Sasha headed to one of the tables, neither particularly liking to dance, but ended up laughing and spinning on the dance floor anyway. After what seemed like hours - wonderful, carefree hours - Sasha ended up by a table where a supervising Professor was pouring out goblets of a suspicious-looking red, bubbly drink.

"Hey, Sasha," a voice said from behind her. She whirled around in surprise, and the person emitted a bark-like laugh. "Having fun?"

Sasha froze, her eyes on the speaker. Suddenly, that breathless happiness vanished immediately, and was replaced by the 5,000-pound weight she had been carrying around since the incident in her "room." "Um, hi, Sirius," she whispered once her lips melted free.

"So, it's a great dance, isn't it?" Sirius laughed. "Do you like cheesecake?" he asked, pointing to her plate. _What's going on? _Sasha wondered. _Why is he acting so - cheerful?_ But as soon as she thought this, she looked up into his eyes, and saw a certain degree of uncertainty behind his cheery facade.

"Um, yeah," she responded, resolving to match his eerie cheeriness. "I love cheesecake. I'm kind of afraid it'll make me fat, though."

"Oh, you shouldn't worry about that," he told her, winking. Sasha smiled back, knowing that her inner turmoil showed on her face, but making no effort to hide it.

"Look," they both said at the same time. Exchanging a surprised glance, they laughed and then continued in unison, "You first."

Sasha motioned for him to speak, so Sirius sighed, teetering on the edge of saying something, before shaking his head and inviting her to go first. "Okay," she agreed. "Well, I wanted to tell you, that that kiss meant nothing. We just got caught up in the emotions of the moment... and I want you to know that you can't expect me to continue... that."

"Oh, really, Sasha?" Sirius responded, advancing forward a few steps, until he was nearly towering over her. "It didn't mean anything? A kiss _always_ means something."

"It. Meant. Nothing," Sasha repeated through clenched teeth. "I'm dating Severus."

Sirius looked away for a moment, and when his eyes found hers again, she could detect traces of sadness in between the (planted, she was sure) relief and politeness. "Great," he told her. "I was actually kind of worried there. The last thing I would want is for you to be unhappy, Sasha."

"Thanks, Sirius," she said, smiling thinly. "I really -"

Before she could continue, however, Severus came up, placing his hand on Sasha's back, scowling fiercely. "Is there a problem here?" he demanded angrily of Sirius.

Sirius sneered. "Only problem is you," he jeered, an ugly expression on his face.

"Sirius!" Sasha exclaimed, shocked. Why was it than whenever Severus was around, Sirius became this mean, jeering version of himself? She glowered at him, then took Severus' hand. "Come on, Severus. Let's get out of here." Without letting up her grip, she dragged Severus straight through the packed dance floor and out into the snowy March night, until they collapsed at the site of their date a few weeks previously.

"I love you, Sasha," Severus whispered into the night.

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><p>Surprised? Well, you'll have to wait until next time I happen to have internet to see what Sasha says! Do you want her to say it back? Tell me in reviews!<p> 


	9. Chapter 9

I'm home! And I've written a lot of new chapters, so you should be getting every day updates for the next few days. Hopefully. Because now I have internet! Anyway... now you get to see what Sasha says... and what happens next. This one is kinda short, but I absolutely LOVE this chapter. You'll see why at the end.

Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own HP or Set Fire to the Rain. Or Psych, for that matter.

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><p>"Wh-what?" Sasha sputtered, sitting up abruptly.<p>

"Oh, is it too soon? It's just... Even though it's only been a little more than a month, I feel like I've never been happier. I want to be with you, Sasha. I would follow you anywhere. I really think I love you," Severus stuttered, but his black eyes were earnest.

Sasha lay back down, kissing Severus gently, while her thoughts zipped through her mind like lightning. Did she love Severus? Sure, she liked him, a lot, and she was happy when she was with him... but she had always dreamed that love would be more amazing. Everyone always said that love was like being struck by lightning - or at least love at first sight. This hadn't been love at first sight, she knew that much. But was it just plain old love?

She inhaled deeply, the cold night air filling her nostrils, soothing and fresh. There was also Sirius to consider, as much as she didn't want to think about it. But kissing him had been like soaring, away from her life and into paradise. Sure, kissing Severus was nice, but she didn't feel that swooping elation in her gut every time he came near. But maybe that was just attraction - maybe love was more than that. Severus knew more about her than Sirius, if her speech in the Room of Requirement wasn't counted. Tears sprung up in her eyes. Had she really chosen so poorly?

"I love you, too," she breathed, even though, deep down - or maybe not so much -, she knew it was a lie. The look of happiness on Severus' face was worth it, Sasha hoped. His face lit up at her words, and his warm hand tightened around hers. At that smile, something coursed through Sasha, but it might have been love, or just guilt.

Or maybe happiness.

Breathing out slowly, she turned her attention to the clear night sky. In her mind, she recited the constellations to calm herself. Unfortunately, she soon hit the star Sirius and its constellation, which only made her heart feel heavier. After laying in silence for a while, Severus asked, "What's wrong?"

"N-nothing," Sasha replied. "Why would something be wrong?"

"You're reciting the constellations, Sasha," Severus informed her seriously. "That means you're stressing about something."

She giggled, her mouth stretching into a real grin this time. "You know me too well. It's just... Sirius," she answered truthfully. "I don't understand why he has to be such a jerk when you're around. Otherwise, he's really nice."

Severus snorted doubtfully, but seemed to be making an attempt to understand. "Well, maybe he's jealous. I mean, no offense, but you sort of act the same way when Lily's around."

"Why would I be jealous of Lily?" Sasha asked, amused, propping her head up on her elbow. "Are you implying that there's something to be jealous of?"

Severus met her gaze evenly. "Are you implying that you think there is something to be jealous of?" he laughed. "Oh, that didn't make any sense."

Sasha fell back onto the snow, laughing as well. "What's going to happen to this world, Severus? Do you ever think that maybe we're destroying is? Destroying the beauty of it all?" she queried after a thoughtful silence.

"Oh, Sasha, you could turn a circus into an educational experience," Severus responded, laughing. Then he quieted for a moment before continuing with, "Seriously, though, I don't think we're destroying the world, as wizards or as humans. I mean, we're here for a reason, right? So whatever we do, I don't think it's actually possible for us to ruin anything. Well, not anything major."

Sasha turned her face away, a tiny tear leaking from the corner of her eye. The truth was that she disagreed completely with Severus' theory. Were they really that different? A crease appeared on her forehead, invisible in the darkness, as she stared up at the sky and lied, "Yeah. That's what I think, too."

The grounds were slowly filling up with more and more students who were filtering out of the hall and onto the lake. Somebody had provided a bin filled with ice skates, and couples were gathering to skate around the still-frozen lake (although Sasha thought it was highly likely that whoever had left the skates out had also reinforced the ice). She spotted Carmen gliding gracefully in figure eights around her stumbling date, Mark. Soon, the students were swirling all around the ice like snowflakes below Sasha and Severus' post on the little hill beside the lake.

"Do you wanna go skate?" she queried.

Severus shrugged, but even under the shroud of the darkness, Sasha could see a small, eager smile playing on his lips. "If you want to." She stood up in response, offering her hand, albeit sarcastically, to help him up. He grabbed it and jumped up, using it to spin her around before she could pull away. She squealed and tumbled down the hill, crashing into the skate-bin. Grabbing a random pair and pulling them on, Sasha giggled at nothing in particular. Suddenly, everything about her situation seemed incredibly ridiculous.

"Come on, Sev," she called, then added, "erus," as he winced at Lily Evans' former nickname for him. Sasha cursed herself for the slip, but soon forgot about it as he glided up to her and they skating in wide circles around the lake. The air was crisp and fresh, a slight breeze blowing Sasha's curls out of their quickly-unraveling twists and twirls. It didn't really matter, in the end. It was still a wonderful night for skating - or dancing, as some couples congregating at the edge of the lake were doing, spinning to the music that carried from Hogwarts and onto to grounds.

"Would you like to dance?" Severus asked, mock-courteously.

"Of course, my dear," Sasha replied with an equally sarcastic tone as he led her amid the couple. It was a slow song, peaceful and flowing. She leaned her head against Severus' chest, relaxing for what felt like the first time in ages. They stood like that, spinning slowly, for a while, until suddenly, Severus stiffened.

Sasha nearly looked up, but then caught herself, and waited until they had spun another quarter-turn to see what had made Severus react like that. To her barely-contained outrage, she saw Lily Evans kissing another boy - Mason something, Sasha thought. Her eyes narrowed to slits. _How could he do that? How could he still care for her? With the way she just left him?_ she thought angrily, but before she could dwell on it further, they had spun around, and this time it was Sasha that stiffened.

Sirius was just standing there, at the edge of the makeshift dance floor, staring straight into her eyes. She gazed back evenly, her blood pumping loudly. It was in seconds like those that she thought she had made the wrong decision. Sasha frowned, their gazes not breaking until she and Severus had spun around so that she could no longer see the other boy.

Suddenly, the music changed, and Sasha and Severus stopped dancing, breaking apart and just standing there, in the middle of the dancers. "Sasha, I want to tell you that I'm so sorry for everything," he began, moving his hands in a way that indicated he was about to launch into a very long explanation. Instead of allowing him to continue, she shot forward and kissed him. It was a long, sweet kiss, one that most definitely meant something.

"Wow," she whispered when they slid apart. "I think that's what I would call... pretty much perfect?"

"Pretty much perfect," Severus echoed, staring back at her in wonder.

But it wasn't at Severus that she looked at as she repeated, in a whisper, "Pretty much perfect." It was Sirius, who was now looking around, smiling, as though he was looking for something. Her? She smiled thinly. _Pretty much perfect._

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><p>And that is why I love this chapter. That last scene. For any fellow fans of Psych, you'll recognize the scene from the end of Murder? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?, where Shawn and Abigail kiss and he looks at Jules. That is one of my favorite Shules scenes! So this is homage to Psych. Those of you who haven't watched Psych... you should go watch it. Now. Well, after you review ;-).<p> 


	10. Chapter 10

Here's chapter 10! This one is where the real action begins. Ready for Voldemort and Death Eaters, not to mention Sirius-as-Padfoot (that one goes to Lives2fly, who wanted Sirius as Padfoot). You'll also get Sirius POV, mainly because Sasha can't know what he's doing right now. I'm not sure what year it said in the books that the Marauders succeeded in becoming Animagi, but I'm going to assume it was before this point in time. Anyway, read. Review. Here you go:

Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Harry Potter or Set Fire to the Rain.

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><p>Sasha was getting tired of sweet apologies when Sirius came up to her once the high emotions from the ball had worn off. Honestly, she wasn't that peeved. It wasn't like he'd done anything serious. <em>Like kiss you again?<em> that annoying voice in her head repeated for the umpteenth time, _But wait. Why would that irritate you? You would like that, wouldn't you. _She shook her head wearily to clear it. Sasha was in love with Severus, and that was that. There were no "but's," not anymore. At least, that was what she told herself until a very strange conversation at the window of her dorm in Ravenclaw tower.

It was late at night - long after her classmates had fallen asleep. Sasha, however, was still laying awake, staring up at the ceiling, lost somewhere in a maze of fantasy. She started when she heard a soft tapping on her window, thinking of owls delivering letters. Only, no owl would be delivering a letter this late at Hogwarts. She cautiously approached the window, wand out, and threw it open, only to jump back at the sight of her boyfriend's face.

Giggling slightly, Sasha shot him a questioning look. "Um, Severus? What do you -" she cut off abruptly, spotting four other Slytherin boys suspended on broomsticks behind him. There was one broomstick aloft that had no rider - as of yet. "Where are you going?" she whispered furtively, filled with a sense of dread. This could be nothing good.

"Well, you know how I told you about becoming a Death Eater early?" Severus queried, his face alight with excitement. Sasha's heart sank. "We're going! We're going to meet the _Dark Lord_!" Biting her lip nervously, she looked away, hating to see this kind of enthusiasm for something like this. "So, I know you said you would think about it, but now you have to choose. Do you want to come with, Sasha?" When she still looked uncertain, he leaned in closer and implored, "Come on, Sasha. Can you imagine what an honor it would be to serve the Dark Lord? Come with me!"

_Come with me,_ Sasha thought, her grey eyes lighting up. Would Severus have asked Lily Evans to come with him, to share his dream? For a moment, she was uneasy - maybe he would have, had they been dating. Maybe he would have expected her to completely change her views for him. But maybe not. _No, he wouldn't have,_ Sasha realized. Evans was a Mudblood, and love or not, Severus would never have asked a Mudblood to come with him.

Sasha grinned, grabbing her cloak and throwing her legs out of the window one at a time and hoisting herself onto the broom. "Of course I'll come, Severus," she assured her boyfriend, before zooming out after him, until they reached a spot on the boundary of the Hogwarts grounds, from which they Apparated to the Dark Lord's current headquarters. She felt a rush as the blackness crushed her - she was finally beating Lily Evans, becoming the girl that Severus could depend on, forever.

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><p>Sirius was sitting in the Gryffindor common room, staring, without blinking, at the small dot labeled "Sasha Williams" on the map sprawled out in front of him. "Padfoot, you need to get over this girl," James Potter complained. "Honestly, you haven't been any fun lately. I mean, Moony's been better to hang out, and he doesn't do anything but read his books! We're not like this, Padfoot. We're <em>players<em> and proud of it."

"You're one to talk," Sirius snarled. "Lily Evans ring a bell?"

"I have decided I am officially over her," James declared grandiosely, but he wasn't fooling anyone. Sirius didn't respond, but seemed to be glaring at the dot. "What is it?" James asked, apparently recognizing his friend's change in manner.

Sasha's dot was moving, Sirius noticed. His gaze turned to a glare as he saw who was outside her window at Ravenclaw Tower. _Severus Snape._ "What's he doing outside of her window?" Sirius snarled, about to go rescue Sasha from the indignity, until he saw that Snape wasn't going in, but Sasha was leaving. Four other Slytherin boys went with them, heading towards the edge of the grounds. "Where are they going?"

James had joined him by the map, a shrewd look on his face. Then he turned to Sirius, who met his gaze steadily. "You really care for this girl?" he asked. Sirius hated to admit it, but he was really falling for Sasha. She was amazing - intelligent, sarcastic, and beautiful. When he was laughing with her, he felt like he wasn't worthy of the pleasure. And when he'd kissed her - it was indescribable. He nodded in response, and James gathered up his robes and said, "Let's go, then. If we hurry, we can catch up."

Remus and Peter followed without question, Remus throwing James' invisibilty cloak over all of them. Their feet didn't quite fit, but it was dark enough so that it didn't really matter. "You know I can't turn into Moony, right?" Remus asked in a whisper as they raced across the grounds towards the six black figures in the distance, who had already stopped.

"We can think about that later, Moony!" Sirius panted, wishing that he could change into his dog form, if only for the running part. Fortunately, all four boys could sprint fast enough so that they managed to grip pieces of the Slytherins and Sasha's robes as they vanished into the blackness. It was a struggle to hold on, when they didn't even have flesh to hold onto, just fabric, but they managed, and emerged in front of a large estate.

"Where are we?" Sirius heard Sasha ask from the other side of what seemed to be a tall hedge, although he couldn't tell in the darkness. Reaching out a hand, he realized it was really just two of the Slytherin boys, large, stupid blokes, clumped together.

Grunting disgustedly, Sirius stood up, carefully following Sasha, Snape, and the rest - along with his friends, whose presence he felt beside him, - so that they couldn't sense him, but so that he could still hear them. Snape was replying, "...and so he's using their place as headquarters."

"Wait, does he know we're coming?" Sasha queried. Judging by a slight edge in her voice, she was nervous. Sirius snorted inwardly. Couldn't Severus tell she didn't want to do this? If he couldn't understand that, then he didn't deserve to be with her.

"Of course," Snape responded, placing a reassuring arm around Sasha's shoulders. So maybe he did realize she was apprehensive. Snape began to say something else, but Sirius didn't hear, because now James was speaking, hushed but urgent.

"Padfoot, I can't go in. I'm too big," James explained, and Sirius understood that he meant his animal form. "But you and Wormy can, with disillusionment charms. Me and Moony'll wait, under the cloak, and if we see any disturbance, we'll come in and save you. Okay?"

"Alright," Sirius agreed, already changing into dog form. Wormy soon appeared beside him. Sirius felt a tickling temptation to step on the rat's tail, but resisted, only because Sasha was in danger.

It was Snape who knocked on the grand front doors of the Manor. It was opened by Narcissa Malfoy, recently married to the young Lucius Malfoy. Padfoot stopped behind him, his lips forming a doggy grin. That Narcissa was far too hot to be married to a cocky Pureblood like Lucius. He almost barked a laugh. Lucius. It was a ridiculous name, in Sirius' opinion. Lost in thought, he almost missed the door, only coming to his senses when Wormy bit his leg, hard.

Nearly whimpering in pain, Padfoot loped through the doors just before Narcissa closed them. His eyes followed her greedily for a moment, before he shook himself awake. Sasha. _Sasha_. She was in danger, and he had to save her. Resolved, Sirius calmly followed, Peter gripping one of his legs, until they found themselves in an ornate sitting room. The dog and rat slinked to the back of the room, where they hoped they could remain unnoticed by the figure at the other end of the room, whose back was still turned.

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><p>Sasha nearly screamed in fright as the Dark Lord turned to face him, but managed to keep her face impassive. He was a truly frightening figure - pale, pale skin, scarlet eyes, and inhuman facial features. Furthermore, he emanated terror and power in waves, each of which hit Sasha harder than the previous. "Welcome," the Dark Lord greeted them in a cold, clear voice that sent shivers down her spine. "Please, seat yourselves." All six students fell backwards into chairs, but the Dark Lord remained standing. "So you are the six that wish to become Death Eaters before you finish school," he continued, in a tone that indicated he was only mildly interested.<p>

Sasha shrank back as the Dark Lord walked forward, only to seat himself in a grand, throne-like armchair and wave his wand so that a feeble fire sprang up in the fireplace. He sat there, looking each of them in the eyes for a few moments. Legilimency. Sasha had read about the Dark Lord and his power, but try as she might to hide her doubts, she couldn't, not when those frightening scarlet eyes stared into her eyes. Finally, his lips curved into something resembling a smile, and he spoke again. "Oh, you will do. You will all do. Now, truthfully, having student spies within Hogwarts will help me very much. I have been yearning for a way to get into there, since that it, after all, where Dumbledore spends much of his time." The Dark Lord paused for a moment, spider-like fingers playing with his yew wand.

"However, I cannot let you join my precious Death Eater ranks untested," he decreed, and Sasha felt a sinking sensation. What would this be? Some horrible magical test, in which she had to prove herself a true Death Eater, or else...? But, to her surprise, the Dark Lord's next words were, "This test will be fairly simple. I need you to find out what the organization known as the Order of the Phoenix is doing on the 5th of May."

Sasha blinked. He wouldn't seriously entrust such a mission to six unproven students, would he? "Ah, I sense your doubts as to the wiseness of this decision, Williams," the Dark Lord told her softly. She looked up, startled. "But never fear. I have...other means...of learning the truth, should it become necessary." Eyebrows rising, Sasha wondered if he was implying what she thought he was implying. But he couldn't really be implying anything, since it wasn't even an answer. The Dark Lord was clever, she realized, as they exited the room, to return to Hogwarts. Momentarily jostled by something brushing against her leg, however, she lost her train of thought, and soon forgot what she was trying to decide. It was confusing.

But it was also the choice she'd made.

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><p>I'm not sure I made Voldemort creepy enough, so he may be a little OOC. But I do think I got his general creepiness down. If that makes any sense. Tell me what you think, now that we're getting into the action-plot of the story! Please, please, please review! Mostly because I know you want a certain James-Sasha moment in the next chapter that I'm excited to write... Also because I have DOZENS of alerts and favorites for this story, but a sad little nine reviews. Come on, people. Step it up! I know you can do it. I want at least three more reviews before I post Chapter 11, so lurkers, stop lurking and start reviewing! PLEASE? So to whoever actually reads these notes - REVIEW. REVIEW. REVIEW. Okay, rant over. But REVIEW.<p> 


	11. Chapter 11

Okay... I got only two reviews, but I'm going to say that's pretty good, for now, since my usual reviewer, LMo98, to whom I have been very grateful, didn't even review Chapter 10! So hopefully, I can actually get three reviews this time... right?

Disclaimer: Don't own HP, don't own Set Fire to the Rain

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><p>"Sasha!" Severus whispered to her in the hall, pulling her into an empty classroom. Sasha looked up expectantly, thinking he was going to kiss her, but he instead, he was speaking. "Me and the others've decided to meet tonight to talk about what we're going to do. You know, for the <em>mission.<em>"

"Oh. Oh, yeah. Where should we, er, meet?" Sasha asked, blindsided by this change in conversation.

"I don't know... I mean, I've thought of everywhere, but I can't quite figure it out," Severus responded, looking disappointed that the first thing she'd asked was the question he didn't know the answer to. "There's nowhere where he can be sure we won't be found and where we can go and disappear at night."

_Yes, there is,_ she thought, but she wasn't sure whether she wanted to suggest the Room of Requirement, especially if he didn't already know about it. It was Sirius that had shown her, after all, and it wasn't everyone that knew about that room. What if Severus got suspicious that she knew about a room that wasn't exactly the Great Hall in terms of people going there? _But you do want to help the Dark Lord and Severus, right?_ the voice in her head taunted her, prompting her to blurt, "Oh, yeah, there is. The Room of Requirement."

"The Room of Requirement? You know about that?" Severus asked.

"Wait, _you_ know about it? Then why didn't you suggest it?" Sasha wondered, perplexed.

Severus shrugged. "I wasn't sure whether it would be a good idea. It's kind of one of those secrets, you know? The kind you don't want to tell, because it's you like it when it's yours, and yours alone."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Sasha agreed, mainly just to be agreeing, relieved that Severus hadn't pursued how she knew about the room. For some reason, she didn't want to tell him that Sirius had shown her the Room, even though he obviously knew they were friends. But being alone in a room - Well, she knew what could happen then.

"Well, if you think it's a good idea, too, I'll offer it to the boys. Is that okay with you?" Severus asked, his black eyes hungrily searching her grey ones.

"Of course, Severus," she responded, getting up on her tip-toes and kissing him.

"I love you," he whispered, as he had done at least once every day since the ball. Sasha liked it - it made her feel happy, worthy, complete.

"I love you, too, Severus," Sasha reciprocated, tapping his nose before ducking out of the room. She was headed to the library, where she had plenty of things to work on. Exams were in only two and a half months, after all, and it was time to put her color-coded study schedule to use.

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><p>Unfortunately, somebody else didn't want her to do well on her exams. "What?" she snapped, whirling around at the tapping on her shoulder. To Sasha's surprise, it was James Potter, his untidy black hair sticking up as always. "Potter? What do you want?"<p>

"I wanted to talk to you, Sasha," Potter said nervously. Her brain registered the use of her first name, and immediately she was on her guard.

"What is it? Are you here to tell me to stay away from Sirius? Because he's my friend, _James_," she responded.

"No, no, it's not that," James replied hastily, raising his hands ever so slightly. "I just - want to tell you that we know what you were doing the night of April 5th, and you need to stop. Sirius was there, and he's really broken up that you want to do something like that."

"I don't see how what I do is any of your business, Potter," Sasha countered stiffly, about to turn back to her work.

"It is my business because I'm making it my business," Potter snapped, spinning her chair around with his hands. "It's my best friend's heart you're playing with, and I'm not going to let some Ravenclaw floozy ruin his happiness."

"Funny, that's what Lily Evans called me, too," Sasha retorted. "I guess I'm a Ravenclaw floozy, then. And guess what? I don't care what you think, or Lily Evans, or anyone. I'm not a _Ravenclaw_ floozy for no reason, Potter. I know what I'm doing."

"Oh, I don't think you do," James disagreed. "I know you're no Death Eater, Sasha Williams."

"Oh, really?" Sasha challenged. "Well, that just goes to show you know absolutely nothing about me, James Potter." She spun back around and refocused on her work.

"You're wrong," Potter whispered from behind her, then walked around so that she was facing him.

"What?" Sasha was surprised. On what grounds could he say that?

"I said, you're wrong," he repeated, a little louder. "I know a hell of a lot about you, Williams. I know you love cheesecake but you're worried it'll make you fat, you someday want to own a house in the country on the shore of a lake surrounded by trees, your favorite season is fall. You hate that everyone just sees you as someone from Ravenclaw, even though you reinforce that belief because you don't want to let people in, and you love charm bracelets, because you used to make them with your mom before she died, leaving you with a father that hates you because you remind him of her." Potter paused, turning to walk away as he repeated, "So I think I know a hell of a lot about you."

Sasha sat, staring at the place where he vanished around a shelf of books, stunned, for a full minute before shaking herself free of her trance. When she did, she was filled with misgivings. Had she really told Sirius that much about herself? And had he really picked up every tiny little detail and relayed it to his friends? Did he care that much? _It's ridiculous,_ she reassured herself. _He can't have me. I'm with Severus, and I've made my choice. And I know it's the right one. Right?_

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><p>The six potential Death Eaters met in the Room of Requirement, which had transformed into a sort of dining room, furnished with a low buffet and long table, but empty of food. "So," Severus began, somehow ending up at the head of the table, with everyone waiting for him to lead the meeting. "How do you think we can get the information about the Order's plans?"<p>

"We can find out from Dumbledore," one beefy Slytherin boy suggested.

Sasha cast him a withering look. "How stupid do you think Dumbledore is? He's a great wizard; he'd catch us for sure."

"Sasha's right," a weedy boy said - was his name Nott? She couldn't be sure. "We should try one of the other teachers. Isn't Professor Matthews part of the Order?"

"Yeah, and she's so old, and she sits all alone at night. We can go and do _crucio_, and get everything we want," a second beefy boy added excitedly.

"No way!" Sasha exclaimed, horrified. "Why would we use an Unforgivable Curse?"

The three Slytherin boys, besides Severus, snickered while the girl raised her eyebrows and remarked, "Ravenclaws have no backbone. Unforgivable Curses are fun and easy, Brainy Girl."

"I meant," Sasha amended hastily, "that it would be easier to cover up if we used Veritiserum or something."

"And where would we get Veritiserum?" the Slytherin girl pointed out.

Sasha swiveled her head to look at Severus, who was studiously avoiding her gaze. "Well, Severus has some," she told the others after a pause.

Severus gazed back at her with an unreadable expression on his face. "Sasha, I was saving that," he hissed. "I thought I told you not to tell anyone."

"Well, I hardly think whatever you could be saving it for could be more important than this," Sasha replied hotly, offended. Even though she'd had a few scruples regarding the whole Death Eater thing, she'd decided to forget about them. Or, to try. It was all becoming very difficult to ignore - from certain things she'd passed at the headquarters, to the things detailed in the Daily Prophet every day. But each time she thought of those things, it was Severus she pictured. He was what she wanted.

"You're right," he was saying. "Okay. We'll get the Veritiserum, we'll go to Professor Matthews at night, interrogate her, and erase her memory."

"What night?" one of the Slytherin boys interjected. "'Cause we have Quidditch practice tomorrow, and the next day..."

"How about right now?" Sasha suggested, actually excited. "It's about the right time that she'd be alone, and everyone else is asleep. So why not?"

The others looked more hesitant than her, surprisingly. "I don't know..." the Slytherin girl said.

"What happened to 'Ravenclaws have no backbone?'" Sasha taunted. For a second, fear shot through her heart like a lightning bolt, and she knew it showed on her face. The others were looking at her oddly, but she plowed forward before she could back out of this. "Come on. We can do this." _I can do this._

"Alright. Let's go," Severus decided, standing up. Sasha took a deep breath and kissed him. _That's why I'm doing this. For Severus. Because I love him. Right?_

That night, when they had gotten the information successfully, without a soul the wiser, Sasha lay in her bed, staring up at the ceiling. Had she done the right thing? Had any of this been right? Was the Death Eater idea in any way right?

Of course it wasn't, Sasha realized, but she had been too blinded by Severus, by her need to be better for him. She wouldn't be able to stand by the wizards who wanted to hurt, kill, and oppress Muggles. Muggles didn't deserve that - they were all human, after all, and they all deserved better. The Death Eaters and Voldemort were wrong about everything. Muggles weren't worth less than wizards. Sasha had always known that, but she'd been ignoring it for too long.

She rolled over, tears forming in the corners of her eyes and sliding down onto the pillow. _I can't do this,_ Sasha admitted to herself, thinking of the way the Slytherins' had laughed at the Professor's pain when they'd subdued her. Even Severus wasn't worth going against everything she believed in.

Was he?

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><p>For the record, I did NOT plan on Sasha finding out that she was wrong in this chapter... so do you think it was the right move? TELL ME IN REVIEWS!<p> 


	12. Chapter 12

Okay, I was going to update this yesterday, but fanfiction was being really stupid and not letting me upload this chapter. I don't know why; it worked just fine right now. Anyway, here you go (the notes are from yesterday, so they may not be relevant, but I'm too lazy to change them).

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><p>I got two reviews - and I know I'm not going to get anymore at this point, so I'm posting early. But, come on, please review! It only takes a minute or two! Anyway, here's Chapter 12.<p>

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Set Fire to the Rain.

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><p>Sasha knew that Severus and the rest were going to try and return to the Dark Lord that night, but she was certain that she had no intent of going along with them. She didn't want to do this anymore. She didn't want to have to lie to herself anymore! It wasn't fair to any of them, least of all Sirius, who found her after Transfiguration. She tried to hide her face from him, but before she could walk away, he grabbed her by the shoulders and spun her to face him.<p>

"Sirius," she mumbled at her feet in greeting. "Listen," Sasha continued, taking a deep breath and fake-smiling up at him. "I've got to go, but maybe we can talk later?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Sasha," Sirius told her. "I'm pretty sure I know you well enough to know when something's wrong."

Sasha shrugged away from him, trying to escape to where Carmen and Anna were sitting at the Ravenclaw table. "I really have to go, Sirius," she hissed at him, serious this time.

He narrowed his eyes. "Is this about the Death Eater thing?"

"How do you and your abominable friend Potter know about that?" Sasha snapped, feeling her anger bubble over the edge.

"Potter? You mean James? Wait, James talked to you?" Sirius asked, looking bewildered.

Suddenly, Sasha couldn't care less whether Sirius was on great terms with his buddy Potter. That wasn't important, not at all. "Go deal with your friend, Sirius. I don't care what you do. Just leave me alone. I don't need you right now," Sasha spat at him, spinning around on the heel of her shoe and marching over to the Ravenclaw table. Who cared what Sirius Black and James Potter thought? Even if it _was _exactly what she was thinking?

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><p>"Look, Severus," Sasha breathed, her eyes shut tightly so that he couldn't see what she was thinking, or she him. "I can't do this."<p>

"What?" Severus exclaimed, and she felt him jump back from where he was sitting, holding her hand.

"I'm serious," she whispered, not even knowing if he could hear her. "I can't do this. I can't be a Death Eater for you. It's not me, it's not what I want. If you want to go, you can go. I won't stop you, and I won't reproach you for it, but I just can't do this. Severus, please believe me. I tried. But you can't expect me to do this for you." Sasha knew she sounded completely desperate, but didn't try to fix it.

"Come on, Sasha," Severus said in a soft, understanding voice. Gratefulness forced her eyes open to see a smiling Severus. Despite the happy sight, her heart sank into her stomach, for she knew that look - it was Severus' _I-can-fix-everything_ look. But this was something he couldn't fix. "Just think what we would be doing. We would be helping the Dark Lord! Establishing wizard rule, so firmly above Muggles! Getting rid of useless Mudbloods and Half-breeds and such! Can you imagine what kind of world we'd be helping create?"

"One where the Dark Lord ruled everyone, giving Purebloods and his followers rights that others don't get, just for helping him get rid of Muggles and such, using the Dark Arts," Sasha responded in a hollow voice. Severus' face lit up, happy that she was understanding. But he was wrong once again.

Sasha closed her eyes again, absorbed in her thoughts. _All the reasons he gave for going to the Dark Lord are the reasons you don't want to go,_ the voice in her head pointed out. It was right, too. Everything Severus had told her was so _wrong_ for her, so utterly opposite of what she wanted. Unbidden tears welled up in Sasha's eyes, despite that her lids were covering them. She blinked quickly, but closed them immediately at Severus' still-hopeful expression, feeling horrible, both for him and for her.

"You're wrong, Severus," she iterated clearly, before she could give in to her heart's wishes - or non-wished. "Those are all the reasons I don't want to come with you to see the Dark Lord. I don't _want_ wizards to rule above Muggles. It's not fair to set Purebloods above the rest, just because their blood is supposedly 'better.' I don't know how you can even think that. You're a half-blood. And I don't know how you can want to go to the Dark Lord and help him kill and torture. Don't you have a heart? Don't you feel compassion for all the children that will be and already have been made orphans? For the sisters and brothers and mothers and fathers that sit at home and cry? Don't you feel that it's _wrong_?" With a slight shudder, she opened her eyes to see a completely dumbfounded Severus staring at her.

"I don't know what to say," he responded after a lot of flapping of his mouth.

"How about, 'that's okay, I understand, I have to go, but I'll love you even if you don't?'" Sasha actually begged in a small voice, something that was so very unlike her that Severus almost seemed like he was going to agree.

"I can't do that," Severus told her, somewhat harshly. "I can't believe that you would just give _up_. I thought you were better than that. I thought you were worthy of me, Sasha."

She flinched as each of his words hit her heart like shards of glass, shattering everything she believed in with a slow kind of torture. Of all the things she'd expected he'd say, it wasn't this. "It's not my fault you're asking me to be someone I'm not, Severus," she protested, anger taking the place of her softer emotions. "It's not fair to me. If you would only have me if I was someone else, then maybe you aren't worthy of me."

"Ha," Severus scoffed, his black eyes turning to coal. "I should've known a Ravenclaw girl like you would turn out to be a coward.

"Aha," Sasha exclaimed, outraged. "Are you suggesting that someone else would be less of a coward? Like, say, a _Gryffindor_ girl?"

Severus' eyes grew to slits. "What are you implying?"

"Well, I don't know. Maybe that you're still in love with Lily Evans and you always have? That even if I'd come with you I could never have had your whole heart? That you set me to a higher standard because you think that if I come with you and believe in you and love you _more_, I'll someday _become _her? Because, _Sev_, that's not me. I can't be your Lily Evans. She left you because of this stuff, didn't come back when you begged like a pathetic little dog, and you still love her. Now I'm telling you I can't give my life, my personality, away for you, and you just get _mad_? How is that fair?" Sasha shouted, her temper now fully unleashed.

Sputtering, Severus backed up, leaning against a tree behind him, appearing to be completely flabbergasted. "I thought... You know what, you're right. You can never be Lily Evans for me, because she was better. She was perfect for me, Sasha, and I've been kidding myself all this time I've been with you. I can't love anyone other than Lily, because she was The One. I could've loved you, Sasha, but never like that."

Sasha stared at Severus in wonder. She had wanted him to deny all that she had said, to tell her that he loved her and her alone. But now she wasn't sure if she had really wanted that at all - because she would have known it was a lie, regardless of how convincing he could be. Finally, after what seemed like ages of being rooted to the stop, Sasha jumped up and walked away. Severus didn't do anything to stop her. Somehow, that hurt more than everything he'd said before.

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><p>She didn't know how many times she'd crossed the grounds, circled the lake, and hiked all the way around the castle, when another set of footsteps joined hers. Sasha turned her teary eyes on Sirius, and smiled at him. "Well, this is getting kind of old, isn't it?"<p>

Sirius laughed and smiled back. "I'm fine with the whole comfort thing. Especially if it has the same perks as last time," he added, winking.

Surprisingly, Sasha didn't mind his laughing. For some reason, as soon as he had arrived, the weight on her heart had seemed to lift, or at least become many times lighter. It would take a while to get over Severus. _If you ever do,_ the voice in her head told her added unhelpfully. "Oh, don't count on it," she responded, almost hating herself for doing this, but feeling it was time to stop sulking. It felt like she'd been moping around all year. _Time to stop_.

"Sasha..." Sirius began, looking concerned and genuine. "What's wrong?"

"What gave me away? The tears or the fact that I know you've been watching me walk around and around all day on that map of yours?" Sasha giggled, but another tear oozed out of her eye in giveaway.

"Sasha, stop," Sirius told her, his eyes clouded with worry. _Aw, that's sweet,_ she thought, against her will.

"Severus and I broke up," she sighed finally, her eyes downcast.

Sirius started. She could tell that despite all his friendly concern and pity, he was the tiniest bit overjoyed at the news. "Oh, Sasha, I'm so sorry," he whispered.

"No, you're not, Sirius, but that's okay," she smiled. "Honest."

Sirius didn't smile back, however. "All I want is for you to be happy, Sasha. And it will never make me happy if you're sad."

Sasha smiled at him. Somehow, that was exactly what she had wanted to hear.

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><p>Wow. That was way more intense than I expected. I did not expect Severus and Sasha to fight... But, oh, well. I think it worked. Don't you? Tell me in reviews, please!<p> 


	13. Chapter 13

Sorry it's taken so long to update since I actually did get three reviews this time. I guess I just wasn't feeling this chapter. I had to restart three times... But I think I got it. Anyway, please review! Also, check out my new story, My Happy Ending. It's a Draco/Luna fic, which may not really appeal to this crowd if you only read Marauders stories, but honestly, I'm not a Marauder person myself. This one just came to me. So please check it out and tell me what you think!

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><p>"Severus?" He looked up from where he was sitting under a beech tree beside the lake. It was late - stars were beginning to move across the sky as the sun's final rays faded from the western horizon. Severus had been sitting there listlessly since Sasha had walked away - since he let her walk away. With this thought, the anger coursed through his body again, but only half-heartedly. The weight on his heart was much heavier.<p>

He glanced up to find Rita, the Slytherin girl that was going to the Dark Lord's headquarters with them. "Oh, hi, Rita," Severus responded in surprise, then noticed the three other figures, cloaked in dusk, behind her. "Are we ready to go?"

"Are you sure you can?" Rita asked, her eyes large and blue. Severus glanced away, recognizing the signs of Rita's never-fading crush on him.

"Of course. Let's go," Severus told them, gathering his cloak around him and setting off across the grounds. He ignored the questioning looks from Avery and Mulciber, leading them away from the lake and to the boundary of Hogwarts grounds. There, they Apparated away, Severus trying to focus on what was about to happen, but hardly succeeding.

For some reason, it wasn't Sasha that was on his mind. It was Lily. He and Sasha had broken up, and all he could think about was Lily - how beautiful she was, how smart, how brave, how much he loved her. Wait, loved her? _Of course I loved her,_ Severus thought with a sigh. He had always loved her. Had he ever really loved Sasha, though? That was the important question.

"Severus, snap out of it," Avery hissed in his ear as they approached the very same room where they had previously met the Dark Lord. "He won't be happy if you can't be coherent, and then you won't be accepted as a Death Eater..." Avery didn't need to speak the rest: _...and the Dark Lord does not take nicely to those who fail him._ Severus' brain had another bit to add: _Like Sasha._

The room was silent as they entered. The Dark Lord stood at the far end of the room, watching them with cold eyes as they stepped timidly towards him. "Avery, Mulciber. Springfield, Goyle. Snape. Ah, and where is Williams?" he said finally, his cold, clear voice sending shivers down Severus' spine, no matter how much he tried to hide it.

"She - was not able to make it, my Lord," Severus murmured softly, staring intently at the ground before meeting the Dark Lord's scarlet eyes with his black ones defiantly.

"Not able to make it?" the Dark Lord queried, his voice bordering on amused. "My dear young Death Eaters. I do not deal with those who are 'unable to make it.' Those are the cowardly, the weak - the ones who do not belong on the same world as myself. I will hear your information, and then I have a proposition to present. Now, as we must rid the world of those who were 'unable to make it,' I would be delighted to begin with Ms. Williams. There are five of you remaining. One of you shall be honored with Death Eater robes - the one of you that succeeds in disposing of Ms. Williams."

Suddenly, a roaring in Severus' head tuned out the rest of the discussion. The others relayed to the Dark Lord his necessary information, which was received with satisfaction, while Severus stood frozen to the spot. What could he do now? He was certain that he would never be able to actually kill Sasha. But could he let the rest try as best they could? She was a very good witch; she could defend herself...

But it wasn't right. If they wanted it bad enough, they would succeed, especially if Sasha didn't know what was happening. Severus had thought he was angry with Sasha, but he had never been angry at her, he'd been angry at _himself_. He might have never loved Sasha, or at least never been _in_ love with her, but she was his friend.

And he most definitely couldn't let her die.

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><p>"Sasha!" Severus called in Potions. His stomach still did a little flip when he saw her, little though he liked it.<p>

He saw a flurry of chestnut curls as she spun around to face him, a very defiant expression on her otherwise-stoic face. "Severus." Her voice was flat, much more flat than Severus had ever heard it addressed to him. "This is getting a little old, isn't it?"

Severus took this as an invitation to place his cauldron beside hers. "I'm not here to try and win you back, Sasha," he told her. This was received with a fleeting look of surprise. "I know we... aren't right for each other. But I hope we can still be friends."

For a second, Sasha's fingers slipped on the knife she was holding, her face unreadable. When she glanced up at him again, she smiled and responded softly, "I guess we can try it out. It worked fine before..."

"Yeah, it did," Severus smiled back, knowing and not caring that his eyes were alight with joy at the prospect of being friends with Sasha. This way, she wouldn't have to die - not if he could stop the others from doing what they planned. And _they_ would just think he was getting close to her so that he could kill her.

"Severus!" Sasha exclaimed as he dropped two sprigs of peppermint into the potion instead of one. "Oh, now we just have to add more of this... and more of this, and because we did that we have to decrease the quantity of this stuff... Hey. What's on your mind, Severus?"

"I - it's just the meeting with the Dark Lord," Severus admitted, deciding it was best to be completely honest with her. She looked away at this, the reminder of why they had broken up. "He wants us to kill you, and he'll make whoever does it successfully a Death Eater."

Sasha laughed dryly after a moment's silence. "Of course. Promoting competitiveness, bravery, and loyalty in today's Death Eaters," she quipped sarcastically, but Severus got the sense that she was much more unnerved than she let on. "So this is what the whole friends thing is about, huh? You want to protect me?"

Severus opened his mouth to deny it, but realized it wasn't worth it. "Of course, Sasha," he told her. "I want to protect you, but I also want to be friends."

"I know, Severus. And it's okay. I'll play along," Sasha agreed, smiling in what Severus nearly thought was a suggestive way, before deciding she was just being friendly. "We're friends."

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><p>"What is that book you're always reading, Severus?" Sasha wondered, trying to sneak a peak at the cover. Severus had been reading a thick, dusty blue volume all week, ever since he'd decided to befriend her again, and he would never let her see what it was. She'd been trying since the second day, when she'd asked what it was and he'd hidden it away.<p>

"Sasha, can't you give it up?" Severus asked, hiding the magically enchanted cover from her prodding wand.

She smiled wickedly. "Not until you tell me what it is. Don't worry, Severus. I won't laugh if it's an education book or something."

"What do you mean by education book?" Severus asked, appearing very alarmed at her suggestion.

Sasha giggled and wiggled her eyebrows. "You're secret's safe with me, Severus. I won't tell anyone... but Sirius. And probably Carmen and Anna."

"Sirius _Black_?" Severus exclaimed, his expression of alarm escalating into total panic. He appeared to hesitate, then finally admitted, "It's an Occlumency book."

Sasha understood immediately. The Dark Lord was a skilled Legilimens, and Severus couldn't have him learn that he was protecting her. "Oh, Severus... For me?" It was a very sweet gesture, even if it was for Severus' own safety. Maybe she'd been wrong about breaking up with him being the right move.

Maybe she had been wrong about it all.

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><p>The ending is kind of mediocre, but it wraps up the things I need to wrap up. Tell me what you think in reviews, please. Should we try for four reviews this time?<p> 


	14. Chapter 14

Okay, I didn't get very many reviews. Just one, in fact. But I didn't like the last chapter either, so I don't blame you. Here's chapter 14.

Disclaimer: Don't own HP, don't own Set Fire to the Rain.

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><p>"Sasha," Sirius whispered in her ear as he snuck up behind her after Transfiguration.<p>

"Gah!" Sasha shrieked, spitting up the roll that she'd snuck from breakfast out onto the floor. Sirius had been doing this numerous times during the past week, ever since the Hogwarts students had begun congregating outside once again, once the May warmth flooded the school. "What is with that?" she asked, turning around and taking his arm as they began to walk around the grounds, towards where Hagrid's hut was.

"How's Sni - that is, Severus?" Sirius wondered, staring pointedly at the other boy, who was wandering around with his nose in the big blue Occlumency book.

Sasha sighed, glad for Sirius' attempt at civil conversation. "He's actually disconnected. Last week, before you started your whole flirting act up again, I thought we actually might work this thing out. I was trying to show him I'd be open to it... but now he's just shutting me out."

"Oh, that isn't good," Sirius responded, and even though Sasha good tell he was merely hiding his glee, she was grateful that he'd tried.

"You're a good friend, you know that, Sirius?" she sighed, spinning around on his arm. "You at least try to understand me. Unlike some." Sasha laughed bitterly before glancing up at Sirius, who had an unusually serious expression his face.

She frowned at him. Just as she opened her mouth to ask him what was wrong, however, his lips came forward and fluttered onto hers. Sasha's heart picked up immediately as she hesitated, unsure of what to do. On one hand, she was sure she wanted Sirius - but on the other, it felt like a betrayal of Severus and of herself. Sirius, however, mistook her hesitation for acceptance and redoubled his efforts, sliding his tongue into her open mouth. She let it stay there for a few seconds before pushing him away, even though her body was screaming at her not to.

"I'm sorry, Sirius," Sasha told him, a little breathless. "And I know it's not fair of me to push you around like this, and I feel like I'm being a horrible person, but I'm not ready for this. I just broke up with Severus, and I'm not ready to get over that. I've been on my own these few weeks... and it's been nice. And I don't want to do this to you - I'm not sure if I want you or Severus, and I don't want to hurt you if I'm wrong, like I've already hurt myself and Severus. And you."

Sirius appeared disappointed but took it stoically. "Yeah, of course. I don't know what I was thinking..."

Sasha smiled. "Yeah, you did. But it's okay, Sirius. I'm fine with it. As long as it doesn't happen again."

Sirius bit his lip, another move uncharacteristic of him. "Just tell me, Sasha. Don't you want me to? Just a little bit?" he queried, leaning forward so that his breath was on her face.

"Sorry, Sirius. But I don't think so," Sasha smiled, trying to appear as nonchalant as possible but finding it hard. Sirius raised his eyebrow, obviously realizing that she wasn't completely certain. More firmly, she added, as she turned to walk away, "No."

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><p>Among Sasha's concerns was the looming threat of the Dark Lord's mission for the other Death Eater candidates. So far, there had been only little things that she'd caught - some very bad-smelling milk in the morning and an obviously cursed ring, glowing bright red, that had been left on her desk in Charms. But lately, she'd seen other students going to the hospital wing with more serious injuries that were obviously caused by the Dark Arts - a burned and blackened leg, a stray boot that ate their owner's feet, and a hair bauble that caused hair to grow extremely long and wrap around the body and suffocate them.<p>

"Severus!" she called in the halls, avoiding Sirius' arm, which was trying to wrap around her shoulders. He turned around, saw who was with her, and turned around again. Sasha ran forward and caught Severus' arm, "No, Severus. Seriously. We have to talk."

"What is it?" he demanded impatiently. "If you don't mind, I have to get to class."

Sasha sighed. "Why are you doing this, Severus? Three weeks ago we were dating, two weeks ago we were completely angry at each other, one week ago we were friends, and now you're avoiding me. I don't get it. If this is what our relationship is like now, I don't even know if I want to be friends."

He tried to walk away, but Sasha was quicker. She caught his arm again and held on tight. "Come on, Severus. We used to be friends... Why can't we do that again?"

"Sasha, I can't do this with you right now," Severus hissed. "I have to pretend I'm helping kill you. And I just don't want to pretend everything's fine when it's not."

"What do you mean, it's not?" Sasha queried. "Well, obviously people are trying to kill me, but... You can say you're pretending to be my friend, right? You said you would to that, and I honestly can't see why not. They won't tell the difference, will they?"

"Sasha, it's complicated," he responded, looking warily down the hall, as though he were looking for a way out of this conversation.

"No, Severus, it's not that complicated," Sasha seethed angrily. "But if you don't want to be my friend, then what do I care?" She stormed off, cursing Severus and his stupid conviction that he had to have everything or nothing. Hopefully that would change sometime in the future, she thought bitterly. Without thinking, she walked outside, although she had Defense Against the Dark Arts next. Oh, well. She could skive off once. _There's always a first time for everything, _she scoffed to herself.

Soon, Sasha was by the lake, her feet dangerously close to the edge. Carefully, she leaned over the edge of the beginning of an underwater cliff that was poking out of the water, dipping her hand into the ever-freezing water and shivering with delight. The fresh air was music to her lungs in that moment, but suddenly, she was choking on water.

Somebody had dealt her a swift kick to the back, sending her toppling into the water, all the way to the bottom. Sasha sputtered and gasped, but only managed to fill her lungs with more water. She kicked and scooped water with her hands, but apparently the Death Eater candidate that had shoved her into the water had also managed to tie a rock to her leg. She attempted to untie the knot, but her fingers were already going numb, and soon she couldn't even think. She could feel her vision flickering and the fresh May air escaping out of her lungs in choked sobs.

Just as Sasha was beginning to give up all hope for rescue, somebody plunged past her. She felt hands around her ankle, untying the magically-tied knot at her ankle and pulling her up. As strong, confident arms pulled her up to the surface, she thought, _Severus?_ Had he seen her go outside and followed her, deciding to try and apologize? And then he had saved her? And maybe beaten up the person who tried this?

Sasha's heart swelled. Her eyes were still blurred, so all she could see was a head of black hair as the person dumped her on the shore and flushed the air out of her lungs with his wand. She tried to reach for Severus, but her limbs wouldn't move. "Shush," the voice said into her ear. Sasha closed her eyes, realizing that maybe it would be better if she could just sleep...

"No, no," a ragged voice said from above her, and suddenly, there was another pair of lips on hers. Sasha leaned up into Severus' kiss, her eyes fluttering slightly. He was kissing like he'd never kissed her before, with so much passion that it filled her body like a revitalizing potion. Almost the way Sirius had kissed her - but no, it couldn't be...

When the two of them finally broke apart, Sasha opened her eyes to the sounds of various catcalls and whistles around them. Her eyes landed on a bare chest of some _very_ impressive abs - abs that she knew Severus had never achieved - and traveled up to a more handsome, usually-haughty face that was now anything bar proud. It could be called worried, concerned, and afraid, three characteristics that she'd never seen to this extent on this boy's face.

Not on the face of Sirius Black.

Sasha gasped, her hands moving to her mouth. What had she done? She began to sit up, but Sirius pushed her back down, his hands on her bare stomach. Suddenly, she became conscious of the fact that somebody had stripped off her robes and left her in the tank top and shorts she usually wore underneath - the _white_ tank top that happened to be hiked up _very _high. "No," she muttered, still feeling woozy.

"Shush, Sasha, shush," Sirius murmured. "Madame Pomfrey is coming!"

"Sirius..." she muttered, then corrected herself. "Where's - Severus?" she choked out. Sasha saw an answer on Sirius' uneasy face as he glanced over his shoulder. Following his gaze as far as she could, her stomach twisted as she caught a glimpse of Severus' head, huddled with the four other Death Eater candidates, one of whom had tried to kill her.

Her stomach grew even colder as a thought crossed her mind, unbidden. _What if it was Severus?_ she wondered with a chill. Could it be possible? No, Severus would never kill her. He may not want to be her friend, but he certainly couldn't be capable of such a horrendous act of murder! Sasha blinked up at Sirius, finding comfort in the worried lines of his forehead and mouth, somehow.

"Stay with me," she whispered as she began to gasp and choke again.

"Always, Sasha," Sirius told her fervently. "Always."

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><p>Romantic. Love this. Have to write fast or my mother will explode. REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW.<p> 


	15. Chapter 15

Well, it's been a while. And to be honest, I don't feel nearly as guilty as I probably should. You guys haven't been the greatest reviewers. I didn't get too many reviews, and didn't feel the motivation to continue with this one. But you can thank Spot' Goil for this one. He/she convinced me to write this. So here you go. Chapter 15.

Disclaimer: Don't own HP, don't own Set Fire to the Rain by Adele.

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><p>Sasha swatted Sirius away from her hospital bed with a giggle. "Sirius, you don't have to do this," she insisted. "Honestly, I'm fine. What do you think's going to happen? Somebody's going to sneak a killer chocolate frog card in here?"<p>

With one of his admittedly attractive serious expressions, something he'd been wearing a lot lately, Sirius responded, "You never know. When my brother was trying to beat our Quidditch team - as if! - he let slip that poison-flavored Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans are all the rage in Knockturn Alley."

Sasha smiled, squeezing the hand that was holding hers. "Thanks for being here, Sirius," she told him, glancing towards the door absentmindedly, as she had been all week, hoping that the other person who should've been there for her would walk in. But although her curtained section of the hospital wing had been filled with visitors - including Carmen and Anna, who'd held a day-and-night vigil at her bedside until Madame Pomfrey insisted they go sleep, - not once had Severus come to visit.

"Hey! No! Stop thinking about him," Sirius urged. "I told you I'd always be here with you and I am. _He_ isn't and he's an ass for doing this to you."

"Sirius, he didn't _do_this to me..." Sasha protested weakly, but even she knew that it was half-hearted. After everything that had happened that week, she'd been starting to believe that Severus had never cared for her at all.

"Of course he did! He dragged you into his Death Eater crap and he made you -" Sirius argued.

"Sirius," Sasha interrupted quietly. "I need you to understand something. You are not to go after Severus. You are not to hex, curse, or jinx him. You are not to hurt him in any way, you understand? Because this is not his fault. I did this. I agreed to go."

"But you did it for him. You did it because you knew that it would please him. You did it because of some sick desire to be wanted."

"Sick desire? Who do you think I am, Sirius? I'm not some pathetic, insecure girl. I knew what I was doing," Sasha debated hotly, trying to sit up. Madame Pomfrey rushed in, pushing her down and scolding Sirius harshly. He was only allowed to stay because, at the last moment, Sasha begged that he stay.

"You want me to stay," Sirius stated, almost a question but not really.

"No..." Sasha protested, more out of stubbornness than anything.

"You do," he grinned, moving forward towards her.

"No," she said adamantly.

"Yes," he retorted, starting to tickle her.

"N-no..." Sasha began, but soon she was laughing so hard that she couldn't even take a breath, much less speak. The loud giggling continued until the door slammed open with a loud crash.

Sirius and Sasha broke apart with startled expressions, both feeling as though they'd been caught in some horrible act, even though it had been completely innocent. "Se - Severus?" Sasha exclaimed, shocked.

"Um," Severus began awkwardly, his eyebrows contracting.

"Sorry, mate. Just playing with my girlfriend," Sirius quipped. "Whoops, did I say mine? I meant yours - your ex, that is."

"Sirius!" Sasha exclaimed, stunned. "How could you say something like that?"

"Get away from her," Severus growled, and Sasha's shocked expression turned from Sirius to him. Why did these two supposedly mature people act like little boys around each other? Why couldn't they just shut up and stop behaving like they couldn't even go to the bathroom without help?

Sirius grinned at Severus and ducked out of the door, giving Sasha the opportunity to explode on Severus. "What is wrong with you children? What are you, three, fighting over me like some insignificant toy? Because at this point, I don't even know if I want anything to do with you, Severus! Where have you been? Why haven't you come until now?"

"Sasha," Severus sighed, and Sasha almost felt sorry when she heard the sadness in his voice. However, the only thing he said was, "I thought you'd be out sooner. I mean, it's just a drowning, right?"

"Just a drowning?" Sasha exclaimed, her eyebrows raising as she prepared another barrage of emotion.

"No, no, I meant... I meant, well, can't Madame Pomfrey cure something like that super fast?" he asked, hastily correcting his mistake.

"Well, maybe I was a little deceptive with her. Maybe I wanted my best friend - besides Carmen and Anna - to visit me," she admitted, looking away. "Look, Severus. I'm friends with Sirius. Nothing more. But you're my _best_friend. And I've needed you. But you... you've been shutting me out because we have different dreams. And, maybe, yeah, that's going to change something in the future, but, God, Severus, why can't you be here for me _now_? I know I just met you this year, but we've been so close..."

"And you love him," he said softly.

"What?" Sasha exclaimed. "How did you get that from _that?_"

"It's okay, Sasha, because I'm done. We're done. You and me, we're done," Severus told her. Sasha moved to stop him, but couldn't open her mouth. It crushed her heart as she watched the lights flicker and die in his eyes as he turned and left.

"Severus," she whispered, but it was too late.

Had it always been too late?

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><p>Sasha was walking to Transfiguration, alone, when she heard footsteps walking alongside hers. "Ha, ha, very funny, Sirius," she laughed, turning around to examine each of the armored suits. She almost smiled as one of them began to move towards her, but her grin faded when two, then three, then five began to move. Five? <em>Five.<em>

Fear shot through her body in an instant as she whipped out her wand. "Stay back or I swear I will hurt you," Sasha threatened, perfectly serious. She heard a guffaw of laughter from one of the suits - a girlish guffaw. She sent a silent stunning spell at Rita, who dropped instantly.

Three out of the other four reacted. _Severus__isn__'__t__fighting,_ she realized. But despite that that heartened her greatly, the other three were sending spells at her left and right. "Protego!" she shouted, backing up and sending another stunning spell at no one at particular. It seemed to hit something - a something which let out a low grunt - but Sasha had lowered her guard long enough to let in a disarming spell. That, she was certain, came from Severus. No one else would've been that nice.

Suddenly, the head clattered off of one of the suits, revealing a very disheveled Severus. Everything seemed to stop for that moment - as though no one knew exactly what to do. Sasha had a split second to decide - reach for her wand and risk being hit, or... beg. And begging was so humiliating and demeaning and un-Sasha-like that she didn't want to fall to that level, but deep down, she knew it was her only choice.

So she said, "Severus. Severus, please."

Severus' eyes stared intensely into hers. For a moment, Sasha thought he was going to let them kill her, but then, he turned his wand on the Slytherins. In one bright blue flash, both were out cold. "Severus," she whispered quietly, sinking to her knees, shaking. Her eyes were blurring over, and she began to cry in earnest.

Severus ran up to her, taking her into his arms. "I'm so, so sorry," he told her honestly, allowing her tears to be soaked up in his shirt, which had somehow replaced the suit of armor.

Sasha lifted her head after a few minutes, staring up into those black eyes. With a sudden rush of strength, she stepped up onto her tip-toes and reached up to kiss him. He let her get close - within a centimeter of his lips - before pushing her away. "We're friends, Sasha," Severus told her. "And that's all we're meant to be."

Sasha knew he was right, even as she stared regretfully after him, as he walked away down the hallway after placing her wand back in her hands. She closed her eyes, shaking her head slowly, trying to ignore the pain she felt. And later, in her bed in Ravenclaw Tower, she cried over Severus Snape one last time.

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><p>So, it's short and sweet. Kind of a teaser to see if you guys still have interest in my story. If you do, review, and I'll keep writing. But only if I get enough encouragement. So review, please.<p> 


	16. Author's Note

Hey, troops! I know what you're all thinking: I'm a horrible person for not updating in so long. And I truly, truly am sorry - I don't know where life has gone. It feels like it was just last week that I updated, but I logged in, and it's been almost 30 days! I just feel horrible about this, so I'm really going to try and step it up, although I don't really know when I'll get a chance to update again. And I can't honestly give you a good excuse for my absence - although I do have a good excuse for not updating this week. I have this giant test, and I really need to focus on that, because quite honestly, I don't understand what my math teacher is talking about half the time (which is pretty much a first - I'm generally good at math). ANYWAY, I'll try and update next weekend, and if not, well, I know what I'm doing over Thanksgiving. I thought I was going to be able to write over End of Quarter... but I guess I was too busy. Thanksgiving is better - 5 days, and it's more of a family thing, so I won't be as busy with my friends. I know you're all really disappointed that this isn't a chapter - I know I hate when authors of my stories pop in just to write a really long Author's Note... but it's better than leaving you all in the dark, right? So thanks for all the reviews and alerts I've been getting these past few weeks, and I promise I'll write more. I've just been busy lately - and I know that's not an excuse, but I hope it's something you can understand. I swear on my life I'll get a chapter to you within two weeks! And you can quote me on that. =) Thanks so much for (hopefully) understanding and being such great readers! PM me if you have anything to say, please. I'd welcome it! (Unless it's something really angry that makes me feel worse. Although I probably deserve it.) KarmellaKitty P.S.: This is saving really weird, so it looks like one giant paragraph... sorry about that! 


	17. Chapter 16

Yes! I kept my promise to all three of my fanfics. Even though it's 8 o' clock at night... it's still the weekend. And this is Chapter 16! This officially makes this my longest fanfic yet, as well as my first. =) Enjoy reading!

Disclaimer: Don't own Set Fire to the Rain, don't own HP.

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><p>"Oh, please, Black, I don't need your help," Sasha teased as Sirius tried to take her luggage to load into the Hogwarts Express. The moment was nothing she would've expected at the beginning of that year - the Sasha Williams of September would have scoffed at the idea of sitting in a compartment piled full with Sirius and his friends, as well as Carmen, Anna, and the rest. She smiled as Sirius lifted her by the waist so that she could sling her suitcase onto the top of the already teetering heap.<p>

"Ah!" she squealed as she fell, only to be caught, bridal style, by the smiling black-haired boy. Carmen smirked at her as she stumbled to her feet awkwardly. Sasha made a face back at her and snarled at Sirius. "Get off me." It was three words, but it meant a world of hurt, evident by the look on his face, which looked like it had been utterly crushed.

"Well, sorry," Sirius retorted, once Sasha had taken her seat between Carmen and Anna. "I didn't know that friends weren't allowed to catch each other when they fall."

Sasha looked down awkwardly. What could she say to that? It was all he had been doing, after all, for the past year, pretty much. Catching her. Sasha's heart seemed to unravel like a spool, and she knew that her normally composed face showed how insecure she was about her true feelings. But it was true - he'd helped through all her problems with Severus and with the Death Eaters... he'd helped her survive that year. "I... Sirius, I just... this isn't really the place..." she stuttered finally, unwilling to simply remain silent.

"Then what is the place, Sasha?" Sirius asked fiercely, not caring that his and her friends were all standing around, watching intently as they faced off. Of course, all of them, Michelle, Linda, Anna, Potter, Carmen, Lupin, Pettigrew... they'd been involved to some degree or another. But Sasha couldn't help being nervous - partially because she knew that all of them thought she was wrong. All of them _knew_ she was wrong.

Including her.

Why couldn't she accept the fact that she and Sirius were meant to be together? _But__that__'__s__not__true,_ Sasha thought desperately. _There __is __no __evidence __to __say __anything __of __the __kind... __I __don__'__t __even __like __him... __But __what __if __I __do? __I __can__'__t... __be __with __him. __I __can__'__t __open __my __heart __to __some __random __guy!_ Sasha grimaced. Was that her problem? Was she too afraid to open her heart? But she'd done it with Severus. Or was she too afraid to get hurt, again?

"I don't know, Sirius," she answered finally. "I don't know if there is a place. Or a time. Or a world where that could be possible. Let's just try and enjoy this last day with all our friends, until next year. Okay?" Sasha held out her hand diplomatically and with a long sigh, Sirius reached out and shook it, his expression sorrowful.

Potter laughed to break the silence. "Is that the snack cart witch I hear? Let's go get some chocolate frogs!"

"I'm pretty sure what you 'hear' is Lily Evans, Potter," Carmen pointed out dryly, nodding her head towards where the redheaded girl was _almost_ imperceptibly slowing down as she passed their compartment. Sasha scowled at her.

"What have you got against Lily, Sasha?" asked Lupin, who had noticed her expression.

"I don't know about you, but I don't really consider myself friends with someone who called me a 'Ravenclaw floozy' in our only quality conversation," Sasha explained, grinding her teeth together with a half-growl.

Sirius barked out a laugh. "Was our dear Snivellus involved in this conversation, by any chance?"

"Why yes, he was," Sasha responded in a faux-surprised tone. "How could you ever have guessed?"

There was a collective bout of laughter at this as Sirius said to Potter, "See, mate? That's the girl you've been chasing after all these years! Insulting our dear Sasha!"

At the words "our dear Sasha," the temperature in the compartment dropped noticeably by a few degrees, but the uneasy silence was broken by Linda, who chose that moment to notice she'd forgotten one of her ruby broaches at their room. A long search ensued, and by the time it was over, the Hogwarts Express was screeching to a stop at Platform 9 3/4. They all disembarked the train with their suitcases, waving goodbye, as Sasha headed off to find her father. Her face grew longer with each passing second as she thought of all the months that she would pass, practically alone, with only her deeply depressed father.

"Sasha!" called a voice from behind her, an unfamiliar, rather high-pitched voice.

"Hello?" she cried back, unable to make out clear figures in the steam. "Hello? Who's there?"

Slowly, six figures came into focus, all cloaked and masked. Sasha's insides grew cold and her eyes widened. Trembling fingers reached for her wand as the same voice cackled and said, "I believe we have a score to settle, m'dear."

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><p>Sirius heard Sasha scream, and immediately he knew something was wrong. Sasha wasn't the kind of girl that just screamed for no reason, and that was one very distinct scream. They'd talked about that before, when Sirius had told her, "They say that wizards find their perfect witch by the sound of her call for help."<p>

She'd laughed, only somewhat uncomfortably, and asked, "Who's 'they?'"

"You know, the people who say those kinds of things," he'd replied softly, brushing a hair out of her face. He'd leaned in, she'd pushed him away, like she always did...

Sirius shook his head. Sasha was in trouble - he couldn't be standing here reminiscing about the past. He rushed towards the sounds, eventually emerging onto the scene, where Sasha and her Ravenclaw friends (who had clearly recognized the sound of Sasha's shriek as well) were valiantly defending against about six Death Eaters - in the blur of the battle, he couldn't be sure. He leapt into action, aware that James, Remus, and Peter were all behind him, Peter mumbling nervously, but the other two holding their ground.

And it wasn't a wizarding school for nothing - as the steam cleared from the just-departed train, the remaining relatives and students, who were still gathered around, saying their goodbyes, took in the scene. Unfortunately, so did a number of the Slytherin parents, who immediately leapt to the defense of the Death Eaters.

But, as often times happens in these kinds of battles, the forces of good began to slowly push back the panting, wild-eyed Death Eaters. Sirius and Sasha were fighting together, locked in fierce combat with a burly Death Eater who kept sending blatant Cruciatus Curses their way. Sirius, however, had enough courage to defeat an army, and Sasha wasn't known as one of the smartest of their year for nothing. The burly Death Eater backed up against the very edge of the platform, his mask slipping as his face became slick with sweat. "_Nott,_" Sirius muttered angrily, shouting a quick "Stupefy!" that found its mark, sending Nott toppling onto the train tracks behind him.

Sasha breathed a half-sigh, half-giggle of relief, exhausted from dodging Unforgivable Curses left and right. As she turned to face the raging battle, where she was quick to notice Severus fighting against a very angry Carmen, she shuddered and quickly collapsed into Sirius' arms. With each ragged breath she drew, tears splashed onto his robes, but he could've taken a million tears and wouldn't have cared. "Sasha... Sasha... it's okay," he murmured, gently petting her chestnut curls.

Looking up with large, wet gray eyes, she responded, "Sirius, how can it be okay? How can you say it's _okay_ when this is all my fault?" Sasha paused, her eyes jumping to each jet of green light she saw, hoping it wouldn't catch someone she loved on the other end. Or someone she knew. Or anyone, really. "What if someone dies today, Sirius? What if someone gets so hurt they can never come back from it? It'll be _my_ fault, Sirius. Mine. I did this..."

"No, Sasha, no," he replied firmly and fiercely. "It will not be your fault. If anything, it will be that ass of an ex-boyfriend of yours, for forcing you to do that. He should feel bad for this. He should be the one to pay."

Sasha was silent, staring at the bat-like shape as it flung spells at her best friend. He'd pay someday. She was sure of it. The Death Eaters... they would all pay. And so would she. All she could hope for was that _this_would be her payment - it'd be enough to make her regret everything she'd done for the rest of her life. "I know," she replied finally. "Now let's go kick some Death Eater butt."

Sirius laughed, surprised, and allowed her to take his hand as they accosted the nearest Death Eater. Sasha felt strangely happy in that moment, although by all reason she should've been furious, sad, worried for Carmen, Anna, Linda, Michelle... But Carmen would be fine. Carmen was a much better witch than Severus was, and the rest - they weren't Ravenclaws for nothing.

And nothing could feel wrong with Sirius standing by her side. She was sure of that now.

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><p>=) sweet, right? Tell me what you thought in reviews! Better yet, give me suggestions on how I can do better with the next chapter. =)<p> 


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